United States has the largest gold reserves in the world at 8,134 tonnes comprising almost 26 percent of the total reserves in the world. This is followed by Germany which has 3,387 tonnes. However, India ranks 10th on the list of the top countries in the world with reserves of 558 tonnes, inspite of being the largest consumer. Overall, the top ten countries have 67% of the Gold's reserves in the World.

2013 saw gold prices plummet by 28% owing to a slowing in net buying by central banks, followed by weak investment demand, and was the first annual drop since 2000 and the deepest since 1981. Demand was subdued in India as the government instituted a number of measures last year to attempt to curb gold imports and reduce the country's current-account deficit.