The Times of Central Asia reports Uzbekistan added about 7 tonnes of gold in September, lifting its total holdings to roughly 446 tonnes, according to central bank figures — following 8 tonnes bought in August and taking purchases since the start of the year to nearly 50 tonnes. The World Gold Council ranks Uzbekistan the third-largest central bank buyer of the period, behind only Poland and China.
Even so, the value of its gold holdings fell $4.83 billion to $60.08 billion as prices dropped about 10% from a late-August high of $4,660 an ounce to around $4,176 at the end of September — leaving gold at roughly 90% of the country's $66.58 billion in international reserves.
