Kazakhstan's central bank plans to reduce its gold holdings, cutting the share of gold in its reserves by about 3 percentage points.

The central bank of Kazakhstan is reportedly shifting from being one of the world's largest gold buyers to a gold seller, as finance ministry officials step up efforts to rebalance reserve assets. In recent years, large-scale gold purchases by central banks have driven a sharp rise in gold prices, but as gold prices pulled back after hitting record highs, this rally has encountered resistance. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries climbed last week to its highest level in 24 years. Aliya Moldabekova, deputy governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, said in an interview: "We haven't seen such levels for a long time. This makes the dollar an attractive option, thereby reducing gold's appeal as an investment asset." She added that the National Bank of Kazakhstan hopes to reduce gold's share of total foreign exchange reserves by about 3 percentage points. For years, central banks have been steadily increasing their gold holdings. But after the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year, the assumption that monetary institutions' demand for gold purchases would remain strong was challenged. The war triggered a global surge in demand for dollars to pay for more costly energy imports. According to World Gold Council data, Turkey and Russia were among the countries that reduced their gold holdings earlier this year.