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ABU DHABI / WAM
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) increased its gold reserves by 19.3 percent during the first quarter of the year, adding AED4.444 billion to reach a total of AED27.425 billion at the end of March, up from AED22.981 billion at the end of 2024.
According to the Central Bank’s statistical bulletin issued today, demand deposit balances also grew, exceeding AED1.147 trillion by the end of March, compared to approximately AED1.109 trillion at the end of December 2024. Of this total, AED856.062 billion were in local currency and AED291.116 billion in foreign currencies.
Savings deposits rose to AED338.788 billion at the end of March, up from AED317.48 billion in December. This included AED268.97 billion in local currency and AED51.817 billion in foreign currencies.
Time deposits reached AED991.757 billion by the end of March, including AED614.854 billion in local currency and AED376.9 billion in foreign currencies.
The Central Bank’s banking operations statistics also revealed that total transfers executed within the banking sector through the UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) reached AED5.449 trillion during the first quarter. This comprised AED3.331 trillion in bank-to-bank transfers and AED2.118 trillion in customer transfers.
Regarding cheque transactions, statistics for March showed that cheques cleared using their images totalled AED351.359 billion across 5.615 million cheques during the first three months of the year. In March alone, the value of cheques processed amounted to AED116.712 billion through approximately 1.83 million cheques.
Additionally, cash withdrawals from the Central Bank totalled AED63.887 billion in the first quarter, while cash deposits during the same period amounted to AED47.124 billion.