HPE Gold Rises Driven by Global Central Bank Purchases

Gold’s export reference price (HPE) strengthened during the first fortnight of March 2026 due to increased safe-haven demand and purchases by several global central banks amid evolving economic dynamics, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade (Kemendag).

The Director General of Foreign Trade at Kemendag, Tommy Andana, stated that HPE gold rose from $159,475.43 per kilogram to $161,568.53 per kilogram. The gold reference price (HR) also increased from $4,960.24 per troy ounce to $5,025.35 per troy ounce.

“The rise in gold prices is driven by increased safe-haven demand and purchases by several global central banks amid rising economic challenges worldwide,” Tommy said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.

In contrast, the HPE for copper concentrate (Cu ≥ 15 per cent) for the first fortnight of March 2026 was $6,684.18 per Wet Metric Ton (WMT), a decline of 0.12 per cent compared to the second fortnight of February 2026, which stood at $6,692.35 per WMT.

During the data collection period, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached above $13,000 per ton and climbed to approximately $13,300 per ton on 11 February before correcting to the $12,500–12,700 range and moving back towards $13,200 per ton by late February 2026.

“Within this range, copper (Cu) prices fell 1.44 per cent and silver prices fell 15.09 per cent, whilst gold (Au) prices rose 1.31 per cent,” Tommy added.

The terms were established under Ministry of Trade Decree (Kepmendag) Number 375 of 2026 concerning the Export Reference Price and Reference Price for Mining Products Subject to Export Duty, dated 27 February 2026, effective for the period 1–14 March 2026. The pricing process involved the Ministry of Economic Coordination, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Industry.