Central banks across the world returned to buy gold in August after keeping a low profile in July, the World Gold Council (WGC) said, quoting data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and respective banks.

They added a net 15 tonnes to global gold reserves. The purchases were in line with their monthly buys between March and June.

However, the Central Bank of Russia sold three tonnes and Bank Indonesia two tonnes during the month. The Indonesian bank continued to offload its gold for the second consecutive month, following a sale of 11 tonnes in July.

“The reduction in Russian gold reserves is likely related to its coin-minting programme,” said Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at WGC said. The WGC lowered its initial July estimate of 10 tonne

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