How Much Gold Does the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Have in 2023?

HOW MUCH GOLD DOES THE RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND HAVE?

We’ve had the odd query from other New Zealanders asking, “how much gold does the Reserve ‎Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) actually have?” Today we delve into this topic in depth…

Our guess is people are probably asking because since the 2008 financial crisis net gold purchases by global central banks have switched from negative (i.e. they were selling), to positive (i.e. they are buying).

Central Banks Buy Record Amounts of Gold in 2022

In the weekend Bloomberg reported that:

The People’s Bank of China [PBOC]raised its holdings by 30 tons in December, according to data on its website on Saturday. This follows November’s addition of 32 tons, and brings the nation’s holdings to a total of 2,010 tons.

Source.

The PBOC only spasmodically updates its gold holdings. The last time was in 2019 and before that 2016. There is also a decent argument to made that China likely holds gold in vehicles that it does not report on either.

But it’s not just the Chinese central bank buying gold. The below chart shows global central bank gold purchases just up to September 2022. So this doesn’t even include the Chinese purchases in November and December. It’s still at a record that is 150 tonnes higher than the previous high in 2018.

Chart showing central bank net purchases in gold in tonnes since 2013
Source

Here’s a look back even further to 2008 to show just how significant the buying from central banks in 2022 has been:

Central Banks quarterly gold purchases since 2008
Source.

So is the‎ Reserve ‎Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Also Buying Gold?‎

Well we’re sorry to report folks, the news isn’t so great.‎

New Zealand’s International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
(Information is disclosed in NZD 000’s)




I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value)
DescriptionNov_22
A. Official reserve assets23,623,482
  (1) Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies)18,203,603
      (a) Securities7,815,222
      of which: issuer headquartered in reporting country but located abroad
      (b) total currency and deposits with:10,388,382
      (i) other national central banks, BIS and IMF10,384,326
      (ii) banks headquartered in the reporting country
      of which: located abroad
      (iii) banks headquartered outside the reporting country4,056
      of which: located in the reporting country
  (2) IMF reserve position750,158
  (3) SDRs4,547,455
  (4) gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped)
      volume in fine troy ounces
  (5) other reserve assets122,266
      financial derivatives(755,949)
      loans to non-bank non-residents
      other878,215
B. Other foreign currency assets1,257,171
  securities not included in official reserve assets
  deposits not included in official reserve assets1,572,656
  loans not included in official reserve assets
  financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets(315,485)
  gold not included in official reserve assets
  other
Source.

Last time we checked a dash didn’t mean that the number was too big to report! But was ‎rather a simple alternative for the number zero.  So according to the RBNZ website, ‎New Zealand has $0 worth of gold deposits from a grand total of zero fine troy ounces of gold.‎

The RBNZ Confirms No Gold Reserves in Official Information Act Request

On the 12 September 2019, the RBNZ also confirmed in an Official Information Act request that “the Reserve Bank does not hold any gold as reserves.”

How Does New Zealand Compare to the Leading Gold Holding Nations?

The below chart shows the gold reserves of 20 largest gold holding countries worldwide as of March 2022 (in metric tons). The smallest – Thailand – has 244.16 tons of gold.

Source: Statista

The Top 100 Gold Holders

Further confirmation of New Zealand’s total gold reserves comes from the World Gold Council.  They periodically ‎take information compiled by the IMF to create a ranking of gold deposits of ‎countries.‎

The lazy mans research site – Wikipedia means we don’t have to look too hard for the ‎latest figures though.  The table below ranks each nation according to it’s ‎officially reported gold holdings as of November 2009.‎

We can save you some time searching and state that unfortunately New Zealand does not feature – at all.‎

World official gold holding (November 2009)[11]
Rank Country/Organization Gold (tonnes) Gold’s share of total forex reserves (%)[11]
1
United States
United States
8,133.5 77.4%
2
Germany
Germany
3,408.3 69.2%
3 International Monetary Fund 3,005.3
4
Italy
Italy
2,451.8 66.6%
5
France
France
2,445.1 70.6%
6
People's Republic of China
China
1,054.0[12] 1.9%
7
Switzerland
Switzerland
1,040.1 29.1%
8
Japan
Japan
765.2 2.3%
9
Netherlands
Netherlands
612.5 59.6%
10
Russia
Russia
568.4 4.3%
11
India
India
557.7[6] 6%
12 European Central Bank 501.4 18.8%
13
Republic of China
Taiwan
423.6 3.9%
14
Spain
Spain
416.8 42.5%
15
Portugal
Portugal
382.5 90.2%
16
Venezuela
Venezuela
363.9 35.5%
17
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
310.3 18.7%
18
Lebanon
Lebanon
286.8 30.0%
19
Austria
Austria
280.0 50.5%
20
Belgium
Belgium
227.5 42.5%
21
Algeria
Algeria
173.6 3.6%
22
Philippines
Philippines
153.9 12.3%
23
Libya
Libya
143.8 4.5%
24
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
143.0 12.4%
25
Sweden
Sweden
135.9 14.2%
26
Singapore
Singapore
127.4 2.2%
27 Bank for International Settlements 125.0
28
South Africa
South Africa
124.7 11.0%
29
Turkey
Turkey
116.1 4.7%
30
Greece
Greece
112.5 92.8%
31
Romania
Romania
103.7 8.4%
32
Poland
Poland
102.9 5.0%
33
Thailand
Thailand
87.4 2.2%
34
Australia
Australia
79.8 7.3%
35
Kuwait
Kuwait
79.0 11.9%
36
Egypt
Egypt
75.6 6.4%
37
Indonesia
Indonesia
73.1 4.3%
38
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
72.0 11.6%
39
Denmark
Denmark
66.5 4.7%
40
Pakistan
Pakistan
65.4 20.3%
41
Argentina
Argentina
54.7 3.4%
42
Finland
Finland
49.1 17.6%
43
Bulgaria
Bulgaria
39.9 7.6%
44 West African Economic and Monetary Union 36.5 11.8%
45
Malaysia
Malaysia
36.4 1.2%
46
Slovakia
Slovakia
35.1 81.6%
47
Peru
Peru
34.7 3.3%
48
Brazil
Brazil
33.6 0.5%
49
Bolivia
Bolivia
28.3 10.3%
50
Ecuador
Ecuador
26.3 11.6%
51
Ukraine
Ukraine
26.2 2.0%
52
Syria
Syria
25.9
53
Morocco
Morocco
22.0 2.2%
54
Nigeria
Nigeria
21.4 0.9%
55
Belarus
Belarus
20.3 11.6%
56
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
15.3[7] 3.8%
57
Jordan
Jordan
14.8 5.2%
58
South Korea
South Korea
14.3 0.1%
59
Cyprus
Cyprus
13.9 29.7%
60
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
13.2 0.9%
61 Netherlands Antilles 13.1 31.4%
62
Cambodia
Cambodia
12.4 12.9%
63
Qatar
Qatar
12.4 2.6%
64
Serbia
Serbia
12.2 2.3%
65
Laos
Laos
8.1 23.1%
66
Latvia
Latvia
7.7 3.3%
67
El Salvador
El Salvador
7.3 8.2%
68 Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa 7.1
69
Guatemala
Guatemala
6.9 3.9%
70
Colombia
Colombia
6.9 0.8%
71
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia
6.8 7.6%
72
Tunisia
Tunisia
6.8 2.1%
73
Lithuania
Lithuania
5.8 2.3%
74
Republic of Ireland
Ireland
5.5 16.3%
75
Mongolia
Mongolia
5.2 10.9%
76
Bahrain
Bahrain
4.7
77
Mauritius
Mauritius
3.9[8] 2.4%
78
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
3.5 1.6%
79
Mexico
Mexico
3.4 0.1%
80
Canada
Canada
3.4 0.2%
81
Slovenia
Slovenia
3.2 7.2%
82
Aruba
Aruba
3.1 17.1%
83
Hungary
Hungary
3.1 0.3%
84
Mozambique
Mozambique
3.0 4.6%
85
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
2.6 5.3%
86
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
2.3 10.8%
87
Albania
Albania
2.2 2.6%
88
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
2.1 0.0%
89
Iceland
Iceland
2.0 1.9%
90
Tajikistan
Tajikistan
2.0
91
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
2.0 2.1%
92
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
1.9 0.6%
93
Yemen
Yemen
1.6 0.5%
94
Suriname
Suriname
1.4 7.0%
95
Cameroon
Cameroon
0.9
96
Honduras
Honduras
0.7 0.7%
97
Paraguay
Paraguay
0.7 0.6%
98
Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
0.6 0.7%
99
Gabon
Gabon
0.4
100
Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
0.3
101
Chad
Chad
0.3
102
Central African Republic
Central African Republic
0.3
103
Uruguay
Uruguay
0.3 0.1%
104
Estonia
Estonia
0.2 0.1%
105
Chile
Chile
0.2 0.0%
106
Malta
Malta
0.2 0.8%
107
Costa Rica
Costa Rica
0.1 0.0%

Note: Wikipedia doesn’t appear to have a top 100 list anymore. It’s now just a top 50. However Trading Economics now does. The holdings of each country has not changed to dramatically since 2009. You can see that list here. We can however confirm as of 2023, New Zealand still has zero gold reserves.

CountryLastPreviousReferenceUnit
United States81338133Sep/22Tonnes
Germany33553355Sep/22Tonnes
Italy24522452Sep/22Tonnes
France24372437Sep/22Tonnes
Russia22992299Sep/22Tonnes
China19481948Sep/22Tonnes
Switzerland10401040Sep/22Tonnes
Japan846846Sep/22Tonnes
India785768Sep/22Tonnes
Netherlands612612Sep/22Tonnes
Euro Area505505Sep/22Tonnes
Turkey489458Sep/22Tonnes
Taiwan424424Sep/22Tonnes
Uzbekistan390364Sep/22Tonnes
Portugal383383Sep/22Tonnes
Kazakhstan381384Sep/22Tonnes
Saudi Arabia323323Sep/22Tonnes
United Kingdom310310Sep/22Tonnes
Lebanon287287Sep/22Tonnes
Spain282282Sep/22Tonnes
Austria280280Sep/22Tonnes
Thailand244244Sep/22Tonnes
Poland229229Sep/22Tonnes
Belgium227227Sep/22Tonnes
Algeria174174Sep/22Tonnes
Venezuela161161Sep/22Tonnes
Philippines155154Sep/22Tonnes
Singapore154154Sep/22Tonnes
Iraq130130Sep/22Tonnes
Brazil130130Sep/22Tonnes
Sweden126126Sep/22Tonnes
South Africa125125Sep/22Tonnes
Egypt125125Sep/22Tonnes
Mexico120120Sep/22Tonnes
Libya117117Sep/22Tonnes
Greece114114Sep/22Tonnes
South Korea104104Sep/22Tonnes
Romania104104Sep/22Tonnes
Hungary94.4994.49Sep/22Tonnes
Australia79.8579.85Sep/22Tonnes
Kuwait78.9778.97Sep/22Tonnes
Indonesia78.5778.57Sep/22Tonnes
Qatar72.2957.52Sep/22Tonnes
Denmark66.5566.55Sep/22Tonnes
Pakistan64.6564.65Sep/22Tonnes
Argentina61.7461.74Sep/22Tonnes
United Arab Emirates54.155.25Sep/22Tonnes
Belarus53.6453.64Sep/22Tonnes
Cambodia50.4550.45Sep/22Tonnes
Finland49.0249.02Sep/22Tonnes
Bolivia42.5142.51Sep/22Tonnes
Bulgaria40.8440.83Sep/22Tonnes
Malaysia38.8838.88Sep/22Tonnes
Serbia38.4638.2Sep/22Tonnes
Jordan37.3237.32Sep/22Tonnes
Peru34.6834.68Sep/22Tonnes
Ecuador33.7833.78Sep/22Tonnes
Slovakia31.6931.69Sep/22Tonnes
Ukraine27.0627.06Sep/22Tonnes
Syria25.8225.82Sep/22Tonnes
Morocco22.1222.12Sep/22Tonnes
Afghanistan21.8721.87Sep/22Tonnes
Nigeria21.3721.37Sep/22Tonnes
Bangladesh14.0314.03Sep/22Tonnes
Cyprus13.913.9Sep/22Tonnes
Mauritius12.4312.44Sep/22Tonnes
Ireland12.0412.04Sep/22Tonnes
Czech Republic11.5411.31Sep/22Tonnes
Kyrgyzstan10.1910.19Sep/22Tonnes
Ghana8.748.74Sep/22Tonnes
Paraguay8.198.19Sep/22Tonnes
Mongolia8.186.84Sep/22Tonnes
Nepal7.997.99Sep/22Tonnes
Myanmar7.277.27Sep/22Tonnes
Guatemala6.896.89Sep/22Tonnes
Macedonia6.896.89Sep/22Tonnes
Tunisia6.846.84Sep/22Tonnes
Sri Lanka6.76.7Sep/22Tonnes
Latvia6.666.66Sep/22Tonnes
Lithuania5.825.82Sep/22Tonnes
Tajikistan5.715.72Sep/22Tonnes
Colombia4.684.68Sep/22Tonnes
Bahrain4.674.67Sep/22Tonnes
Mozambique3.941.6Sep/22Tonnes
Slovenia3.173.17Sep/22Tonnes
Albania3.113.11Sep/22Tonnes
Aruba3.113.11Sep/22Tonnes
Bosnia and Herzegovina2.992.99Sep/22Tonnes
Luxembourg2.242.24Sep/22Tonnes
Hong Kong2.082.08Sep/22Tonnes
Iceland1.981.98Sep/22Tonnes
Papua New Guinea1.961.96Sep/22Tonnes
Trinidad And Tobago1.941.94Sep/22Tonnes
Haiti1.811.81Sep/22Tonnes
Yemen1.561.56Sep/22Tonnes
Suriname1.461.46Sep/22Tonnes
El Salvador1.371.37Sep/22Tonnes
Honduras0.690.69Sep/22Tonnes
Dominican Republic0.570.57Sep/22Tonnes
Malawi0.40.4Sep/22Tonnes
Chile0.250.25Sep/22Tonnes
Estonia0.250.25Sep/22Tonnes
Uruguay0.10.1Sep/22Tonnes
Burundi0.030.03Sep/22Tonnes
Fiji0.030.03Sep/22Tonnes
Malta0.030.06Sep/22Tonnes
Kenya0.020.02Sep/22Tonnes
Oman0.020.02Sep/22Tonnes
Armenia00Sep/22Tonnes
Azerbaijan00Sep/22Tonnes
Cameroon00Sep/22Tonnes
Canada00Sep/22Tonnes
Nicaragua00Sep/22Tonnes

It’s a bit of a worry when Haiti, which the world bank ‎reports as the poorest country in the Latin American and Caribbean region and among the poorest countries in the world, recently had more gold reserves than New Zealand does!‎

While even our small pacific neighbour Fiji has 0.03 tonnes!

Fiji may come in at number 104 on the list and only have 0.03 tonnes but that’s 0.03 ‎tonnes more than us!  (Or about $2.85 Million NZD in Gold reserves more than New Zealand)‎.

Just like we believe the average person should have at least a small percentage of their ‎liquid net worth held in gold, we too think the RBNZ would be wise to convert some ‎of its foreign currency reserves into real money. Thereby ensuring a store of value in a time ‎when currencies the world over are being depreciated at ever greater speed.‎

Read more: Why New Zealand Won’t Have Any Say in a Global Currency Reset

Why the RBNZ is Very Unlikely to Buy Gold

However, it’s very unlikely that the New Zealand central bank will buy any gold in the future. Even though so many other central banks have been doing just that since 2009. Why do we think that?

Because back in 2012 a reader forwarded us an email from the RBNZ that said:

Dear Jake

Thank you for your question and apologies for the delay in responding.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has not held any gold reserves since 1991.

Our reserves management responsibilities are set out in the Reserve Bank Act of 1989 and our foreign reserve targets are specified by the Minister of Finance. The Reserve Bank is not, at this stage, planning to include gold in our foreign reserve portfolio. The Reserve Bank’s position is that gold does not meet our liquidity requirements.

Kind regards

Raewyn Peters
Knowledge Adviser | Reserve Bank of New Zealand
2 The Terrace, Wellington 6011 | P O Box 2498, Wellington 6140
T. +64 4 472 2029 | F. +64 4 471 3722
www.rbnz.govt.nz

Interesting that gold does not meet the RBNZ’s “liquidity requirements”. Even though gold can be sold at a moments notice and turned into cash. So the odds of a turn around from the Reserve Bank on buying gold looks slim indeed.

So best you prepare yourself and become your own central bank and buy some gold or silver.

Editors note: This post was first published 5 December 2009. Last updated 11 January 2023 with new charts and numbers and addition of 2022 central bank gold buying charts.

28 thoughts on “How Much Gold Does the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Have in 2023?

  1. danny says:

    It would be interesting to see a table for private gold hold by country.
    Scarey, I have more gold than the NZ Government!

  2. admin says:

    Danny,
    That would be an insightful piece of information alright. The World Gold Council does track Jewellery, Industrial and Investment demand but we are not aware of them itemizing the investment demand per country – probably because they don’t have the complete information in order to do so. As a large part of private investment in gold is in Over-the-Counter transactions, so it is very difficult to accurately measure.
    Although undoubtedly India would be joined by China at the top and New Zealand would be a long way down the list. Also here’s a recent article on how China is about to take over top spot from India as the worlds top Gold consumer…
    http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLNE5B801V20091209?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=stocksNews&rpc=401&sp=true

    Thanks for your comment.

    GSG editors.

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  12. Andrew Sheldon says:

    I’m not a fan of government’s holding gold. I think if you want to hold gold, then we ought to do it ourselves. As far as currencies are concerned, I’d like to see private crypto-currencies underpinned by gold, if not other currencies. I’d not trust the NZ govt to hold it, as it would probably be plundered. How can we believe that Fort Knox still has its gold reserves. The Fed doesn’t publish the holdings, since its private. It leases it too. I’m not an advocate of such counter-party risks. I personally hold gold shares, because I know with gold in the ground, I don’t have to worry about it being stolen, and it offers an income. Its getting to a point where its almost time to buy.

  13. Helena M Jordan says:

    The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is owned by the Rothschild Family, as are the Reserve banks in most other “western countries”, with the exception of Cuba, Nrth Korea and Iran – hence wars in the Middle East. (Good thing perhaps China bought the U.S.Fed Reserve and gold stocks held by J.P.Morgan) Rothschild took control of Iraq and Libya Reserve Banks – the way paved by blood under the umbrella “fight against terrorism”. Rothschild is now after Iran Reserve Bank by way of Syria. IMF and World Bank is controlled by the Rothschild Group – they have put the peoples of Portugal, Spain, Italy (U.K. although they don’t realize it yet) on their knees and now the peoples of Greece are getting up off their knees to say “NO MORE”. The wars in the Middle East are by Rothschild design to cause total disruption in Europe. How long before NATO troops are ordered in to “regain the peace” or better put take over control.
    New Zealand has no gold reserves, Rothschild owns and controls the Reserve Bank and major high street banks. This Elite could put the people of NZ on their knees overnight. Perhaps as soon as 2016.

  14. Glenn says:

    Hi Helena,

    Yes there is a fair bit of evidence backing up what you say.

    It is indeed a case of “following the money” in many of these conflicts to see what the rationale is for most of them.

    Thanks for taking the time to write an insightful comment.

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  17. dean says:

    Gold has to be the most worthless metal ever dreamt about. Asthetic jewelry, a small play in medicine and electronics and conveniently a ‘universal currency’ by horders who monopolise and oversee world curriencies. It is a good thing NZ stays away from gold reserve holdings, as its hit and miss these days whether you have ‘gold’ stock or ‘tungsten’ look-a-like bar… very close atomic weight between these two metals has inspired false gold reserve all over the place … like the load China got as payment from the fed reserve … they was not happy folks … wheres the real stuff going? Well … back to its owners of course – the guys who control the money systems certainly will want to control the ‘universal’ currency as well otherwise owning reserve banks and convential curriencies will mean jack shit … Ive got no gold, but Ive got 112 dollars in the bank … and thats just how I like it.

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