SHINE BRIGHTER Central banks have not flocked to invest, despite the pandemic GOLD SURVEY 2020 Reserve managers are disposed to gold ETFs but are not actively investing ULTIMATE STORE OF VALUE Róbert Rékási sheds light on the Central Bank of Hungary’s gold strategy Gold for central banking 2020 In association with CBJ_1220_Gold_OFC.indd 47 27/11/2020 14:19 Gold for central banking 2020 Introduction The changing role of gold Report editor: Rachael King Throughout history, gold has played an important role for both its
[email protected] actual and symbolic value. For many ancient civilisations, such as Contributor: Victor Mendez-Barreira the Incas and Egyptians, gold ownership was limited to members of victor.mendezbarreira@ the royal families, as only they had access to the gods. centralbanking.com Over time, the role of gold changed so that, by the end of the 19th century, many countries fixed the value of their currencies Chairman: Robert Pringle in terms of a specified amount of gold – this later became known Editor: Christopher Jeffery as the gold standard. After World War II, countries adopted the
[email protected] Bretton Woods system of monetary management – a regime of fixed exchange rates linked to the price of gold that finally broke Global brand director: Nick Carver
[email protected] down in 1973. But, while the role of gold has changed within the monetary Commercial director: John Cook system, it remains important for investors.
[email protected] This year, the Covid-19 pandemic and the reaction from central Commercial editorial manager: banks had a significant impact on the price of gold.