Residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan in January-March purchased in the second-tier banks and non-bank exchange offices 18,969 thousand gold bars weighing 816.4 kg, reports the National Bank of the Republic.
The most bullion bars were purchased in Almaty – 12.456 thousand pieces, which is 66% of the total sales volume. Shymkent (2,861 thousand pieces; 15%) and Zhetysu oblast (983 pieces; 5%, respectively) are in second and third place.
The program on sale and redemption of refined gold bars for the population was launched by the National Bank of Kazakhstan in 2017. Since the beginning of its operation, 170,543 thousand gold bars with a total weight of 6.2 tons have been sold.
Since the beginning of the program, second-tier banks and non-bank exchange offices have accepted 34.569 thousand gold bars with a total weight of 937.7 kg for repurchase. This constitutes 20% of the total volume of sales of bullion bars. Almost all accepted for repurchase of bullion bars are sold to the public without return to the branches of the National Bank.
As reported, the banks of the Republic of Kazakhstan and non-bank exchange offices in 2023 sold to the public 38.729 thousand bars total weight of 1.6 tons of gold (+45.5% to 2022), compared to 37.94 thousand gold bars total weight of 1.1 tons in 2022. RIA Novosti/Prime.