The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) increased its purchases of gold from the Sukari mine by 60%, reaching EGP 80 million per month since the beginning of 2021, compared to EGP 50 million in the year-ago period.
The announcement came after Centamin Company requested to obtain gold bars in exchange for securing the operating expenses.
Upon an agreement between the CBE and Centamin in 2017, the central bank secured the company’s currency in Egyptian pounds in exchange for gold bars.
It is worth noting that the value of gold purchases by the CBE annually amounted to EGP 960 million, compared to EGP 600 million last year.
The CBE is the largest buyer of gold during the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, as it bought around 44 tons of gold last February, with an estimated value of $2.7 billion, according to a report issued by the World Gold Council.
Contributed by Omnia Ahmed
