Chart: Gold (lhs), in USD, and Aggregated Central Bank Balance Sheets (Fed, ECB, BoJ, PBOC) (rhs), in USD trn

Gold and Aggregated Central Bank Balance Sheets Chart

This chart shows the developments of gold and the aggregated balance sheet of major central banks since 2000. Left hand scale (lhs): Price per ounce of gold in US dollars (USD). Right hand scale (rhs): Sum of Federal Reserve (Fed), European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of Japan (BoJ), and People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Balance Sheets in trillions of US dollars (USD).

Analysis of the Gold and Aggregated Central Bank Balance Sheets Chart

Since 2000, the aggregate balance sheet of the four major central banks has grown from approximately 2.5 trillion to 31 trillion US dollars. This growth has continued every year except from February 2018 to March 2020, when the aggregate balance sheet declined slightly. In the following two years, the balance sheet grew by 50% from 20 trillion to 30 trillion US dollars. Such a growth rate has only occurred in the period surrounding the global financial crisis of 2006-2010.