CBUAE Reports 19.3% Increase In Gold Reserves For Q1 2025

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) significantly boosted its gold reserves by 19.3% in the first quarter of this year. This increase added AED4.444 billion, bringing the total to AED27.425 billion by March's end, compared to AED22.981 billion at the close of 2024.

Demand deposit balances also saw growth, surpassing AED1.147 trillion by March's end, up from approximately AED1.109 trillion in December 2024. Of this amount, AED856.062 billion was held in local currency and AED291.116 billion in foreign currencies.

Savings deposits experienced an increase, reaching AED338.788 billion by March's conclusion, compared to AED317.48 billion in December. This total included AED268.97 billion in local currency and AED51.817 billion in foreign currencies.

Time deposits reached a total of AED991.757 billion by the end of March, with AED614.854 billion held in local currency and AED376.9 billion in foreign currencies.

The UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) facilitated transfers within the banking sector amounting to AED5.449 trillion during the first quarter. This included bank-to-bank transfers totalling AED3.331 trillion and customer transfers amounting to AED2.118 trillion.

Cheque transactions for March revealed that cheques cleared using their images amounted to AED351.359 billion across 5.615 million cheques during the first three months of the year. In March alone, cheques worth AED116.712 billion were processed through about 1.83 million cheques.

Cash Withdrawals and Deposits

In terms of cash handling, withdrawals from the Central Bank totalled AED63.887 billion during the first quarter, while cash deposits for the same period reached AED47.124 billion.

This data highlights a robust financial activity within the UAE banking sector during the initial months of this year, reflecting both growth in reserves and active transaction volumes.

With inputs from WAM