Kazakhstanis Purchase Nearly Half a Ton of Gold in Q3 2024
In the third quarter of 2024, Kazakhstanis purchased around 14,000 gold bars, totaling 475.5 kilograms, according to a report by the National Bank of Kazakhstan released on October 21.
The gold bars, numbering 13,940, were sold by second-tier banks and non-bank exchange offices as part of a program launched in 2017 aimed at making refined gold accessible to the public. Since its inception, the program has seen the sale of 199,235 gold bars, weighing a total of 7.4 tons.
The bars are available in five weights: 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 grams. The most popular choice among buyers is the 10-gram bar, which makes up 24% of total sales, with 48,629 units sold. This is followed by 100-gram bars (47,227 units, 24%), 5-gram bars (44,127 units, 22%), 20-gram bars (31,612 units, 16%), and 50-gram bars (27,640 units, 14%).
Almaty residents led the purchases, acquiring 8,101 bars (58% of total sales), followed by residents of Shymkent (1,279 bars, 9%) and Astana (1,243 bars, 9%).
The National Bank also reported that since the start of the program, 41,058 gold bars, totaling 1.1 tons, have been repurchased by banks and exchange offices, representing 21% of the total sales. The majority of these bars were resold to the public rather than returned to the National Bank’s branches.
