The UAE central bank’s gold reserves increased by 5.3% month-on-month to reach $6.3 billion (AED 23.19 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2024, up from $6 billion (AED 22.02 billion) in August.
Gold reserves
The Gulf state’s gold reserves had grown by over 27.8%, or $1.36 billion (AED 5 billion) since the start of 2024, from $4.94 billion (AED 18.15 billion) by the end of last year, state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday, citing the monthly statistical bulletin released by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
The UAE had ninth place among Arab countries in terms of gold reserves, with 75 tons of gold reserves, constituting 2.8% of the central bank’s total reserves, according to a World Gold Council report in August.
Meanwhile, the central bank said that demand deposits in the country rose by over 3% to $290 billion (AED 1.08 trillion) by the end of September, which included $212.78 billion (AED 781.53 billion) in local currency.
The country’s banking sector has witnessed a significant rise in deposits, with savings deposits reaching $82.91 billion (AED304.53 billion), according to the WAM report.
Of this, about $69.86 billion (AED256.6 billion) is in the local currency. Furthermore, time deposits have touched $241.89 (AED 888.47 billion) by the end of September, with around $147.73 billion (AED 542.6 billion) in local currency.
Also, the net international reserves of the UAE banking sector reached $360 billion (AED1.32 trillion) at the end of September, registering a 15% year-to-date rise from $310 billion (AED 1.15 trillion) by the end of December 2023.
Besides, the value of cash withdrawals from the central bank in the first nine months of 2024 reached about $41.37 billion (AED151.97 billion), while cash deposits with the central bank amounted to around $38.34 billion (AED140.83 billion), the WAM report added.
Big numbers
$3.9 trillion (AED 14.34 trillion): That’s the total transactions in the banking sector in the country via the UAE Fund Transfer System (UAEFTS) in the first nine months of this year, Of this, more than $266.75 billion (AED 979.77 billion) were the value of circulated checks, based on their e-images.
Economic growth forecast
The central bank in September raised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the country to 4% from 3.9% for the current year, citing better performance in the oil sector.
