Central bank gold buying at 40-year high

This is something that should perk up the ears of gold bugs out there: Central Banks purchased 148.4 tons in July-September, the largest since 2002. This is a huge reversal since the days when Central Banks sold gold all the way down to $300. Could this be a huge contrarian call that gold has peaked?

What caught my eye in this FT.com article is that China overtook India to become the largest consumer of gold jewelry in the third quarter. Chinese jewelry consumption rose 13% from a year earlier to 138.6 tons, while buying from India – traditionally the world’s top consumer – fell 26%.

It looks like the world’s most steadfast gold bugs are actually shying away from the yellow metal. Has gold become all that it can be?

Here are some Indian Gold ETFs you can places your bets on: GOLDBEES, KOTAKGOLD, RELGOLD.