Insights

Demand for gold from central bankers continues, with data available for February showing reported global central bank gold reserves rising by 24t. Thus far, Poland, China, Turkey, and the Czech Republic have led gold demand from emerging market central banks. 

Central banks continued their strong interest for gold in January with reported net purchases of 18t. The sustained buying highlights the strategic importance of gold in official reserves, particularly as central banks navigate heightened geopolitical risks.

Central banks reported 3t of net selling in December via the IMF and other public data sources. The People’s Bank of China was the largest reported net buyer this month (10t), followed by Czech National Bank and Bank of Ghana with a tonne net purchases each. The National Bank of Kazakhstan was the largest seller (11t) during the month.

Based on available reported data, central banks bought a net 53t in November. The National Bank of Poland (21t) was the biggest buyer, while the People's Bank of China reported its first addition (5t) since April.

Central banks reported 47t of net purchases this month – the highest amount recorded y-t-d. The Central Bank of Turkey led the field, adding 17t of gold to its reserves, followed by India and Poland – 14t and 8t respectively.

Central banks reported 40t of net buying in September via the IMF and other public data sources. Demand recovered during the month: monthly gross purchases of 48t were offset by gross sales of 8t.

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Central banks reported net buying of 8t in August via the IMF and other public sources. Demand was the lowest reported figure since March 2024 with net buying activity coming from emerging markets.

Central banks have shown an ongoing commitment to accumulating gold in recent months. While the overall level of reported demand has cooled as the gold price has continued to rally to new record highs, it has nonetheless remained positive.

In July, China’s wholesale gold demand remained weak and the local gold price premium trended down further. However, gold ETFs saw their eighth consecutive monthly inflows, pushing the total assets under management and holdings to record highs. And China’s official gold holdings remained unchanged.

Central banks reported 12t of net buying in June via the IMF and other public data sources. Demand moderated during the month: monthly gross purchases of 31t were offset by gross sales of 18t.

Central banks reported 10t of net buying in May via the IMF and other public data sources. Demand moderated during the month: monthly gross purchases fell to 23t and offset by gross sales of 12t.*

In May, China’s wholesale gold demand fell as gold jewellery consumption and bar and coin sales cooled. Meanwhile, the local central bank didn’t report any gold purchase during the month. But the bright spot came from the gold ETF market which extended the inflow streak to six months.

The rapid rise in the gold price during March raised  several questions. One of these was whether central banks – whose demand has been posited as a key reason for the recent rally – would change their gold buying behaviour in response.

Central banks reported 16t of net buying in March via the IMF and other public data sources. Demand remained healthy: monthly gross purchases were steady m/m at 40t, partly offset by gross sales of 25t.

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Data for February shows that reported global central bank gold reserves rose by 19t, the ninth consecutive month of growth. At the same time February’s buying was 58% lower than January’s total of 45t.

In January, central banks reported that they increased global official gold reserves by 39t. This was more than double the (revised) December net purchases of 17t, and the eighth consecutive month of net purchases.

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