September 3, 2024: When it comes to gold reserves or gold stocks, the United States is always at the top. The U.S. holds the world’s largest gold reserve, and its dominance is evident considering that Germany, which is second, has only 30% of the U.S. gold reserves.
In comparison, India’s Reserve Bank holds only a fraction of the gold that the U.S. does. However, Indian households possess so much gold that they could potentially buy the entire U.S. gold stock.
It might be hard to believe, but it is true. Here’s a breakdown: the U.S. central bank currently holds 8,133 tons of gold, while Germany holds 3,353 tons, and Italy has 2,452 tons. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has about 800 tons of gold, which is only about 10% of the U.S. reserves, placing India in 9th place globally.
How Much Gold Do Indian Families Have?
Indian households are estimated to have approximately 25,000 tons of gold, according to a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This means that Indian families hold about three times the total gold reserves of the United States. The value of this gold is estimated to be around ₹126 trillion.
Where Does India Store Its Gold?
India’s government gold reserves are kept in the Reserve Bank of India’s vaults. As of March 2024, RBI held 822 tons of gold. Of this, 408 tons are stored within India, while over 413 tons are kept abroad. Most of India’s gold is held at the Bank of England and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in the UK.
What Is the Value of U.S. Gold?
As of June 2024, the U.S. had a gold reserve of 8,000 tons, accounting for 75% of its total reserves. The value of this gold is approximately $543 billion (around ₹44.52 trillion). This is less than a third of the value of India’s gold reserves when viewed from a price perspective.