On June 16, the World Gold Council (WGC) announced that 45% of the central banks surveyed expect to increase their gold holdings in the next 12 months, up 2 percentage points from a year ago. In the annual survey conducted by the WGC from February 5 to May 19, 54% of the 74 central banks indicated that their gold holdings would remain unchanged, while 1% expected a decrease. Most responses were received after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in late February, which led to rising oil prices and a decline in gold prices. The WGC's global central bank director stated that central banks remain enthusiastic about gold, and the recent drop in gold prices has not changed their views. Furthermore, the WGC reported that 93% of respondents indicated they already hold gold, up from 81% a year ago. Among the various reasons for holding gold, as many as 90% of respondents cited gold's strong performance during times of crisis. Other key reasons include long-term value storage and portfolio diversification. Respondents from emerging markets and developing economies (85%) place greater emphasis on gold as a hedge against geopolitical risks. As some central banks continue to shift their gold reserves, 9% of respondents reported increasing their domestic gold reserves in the past 12 months, up from 5% last year; 10% indicated they have diversified their overseas gold reserve locations, up from 2% last year. In the next 12 months, 7% of central banks plan to increase domestic storage, and 9% plan to diversify overseas storage locations.