TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, December 6. Uzbekistan has become the world's largest seller of gold as of October 2023, Trend reports.
The sales volume of the precious metal in Uzbekistan amounted to 11 tons, in October of 2023, which by comparison is 5 times more than the volume sold in Kazakhstan.
According to Uzbekistan's State Statistics Committee, Uzbekistan exported $1.24 billion worth of gold, while the total value of exports in the first 10 months of 2023 amounted to $6.87 billion, increasing year-on-year by 2.3 times.
Meanwhile, net purchases of gold by central banks of the world amounted to 42 tons in October of 2023, which signals a slowdown in the trend towards the acquisition of gold.
The volume of gold purchased decreased by 41 percent compared to September, but this is still above the average rate recorded from January through September 2023.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the price for a gold ingot of five grams in Uzbekistan has reached the mark of 4.24 million soums ($343.9).
As per data by Uzbekistan’s Central Bank, the set price of gold is currently as a new maximum level since the beginning of sales in 2020.
One gram of gold in Uzbekistan is currently estimated at 847,920 soums ($68.78), which is 1.2 percent increase compared to last week’s calculations.