(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Despite sales by Turkey and Russia, net central bank gold buying was positive in February, rebounding from a tepid January.
In total, central banks globally added a net 19 tonnes of gold to their reserves in February. That was up from just 5 tonnes in January.
Even so, it appears the higher price has put a drag on central bank gold buying. Last year, banks added an average of 26 tonnes per month. As the World Gold Council put it, “central banks may be prudently price sensitive in their accumulation.”
Despite rumors that it might tap into its gold reserves, Poland was the biggest buyer in February, expanding its reserves by another 20 tonnes. This lifted the country’s gold reserves to 570 tonnes, making up 31 percent of its total reserves.
Poland led central bank gold buying in 2025, adding 102 tonnes of gold to its holdings.
Late last year, the National Bank of Poland issued a statement saying it plans to purchase up to 150 more tonnes of gold, raising its holdings to a maximum of 700 tonnes.
NBP Governor Adam Glapiński said the increase in gold reserves would elevate Poland to an “elite” status.
“This will place Poland among the elite 10 countries with the largest gold reserves in the world.”
The Polish central bank already holds more gold than the European Central Bank. To put the country’s gold reserves in context, in 1996, the NBP only held 14 tonnes of gold.
Glapiński recently floated a plan to sell $13 billion in gold to finance defense spending. He said the bank would “generate profits and to then buy it back.” However, the Polish central bank has not released any additional details about the plan.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan added 8 tonnes of gold to its reserves in February. The Uzbek central bank has purchased 16 tonnes of gold so far this year, boosting reserves to 407 tonnes. The country holds most of its reserves in gold, with the yellow metal accounting for 88 percent of its total reserve assets.
The Bank of Malaysia made its first gold purchase since 2018 in January and piled in an additional 2 tonnes in February.
The Czech Republic continued adding gold to its holdings, increasing its reserves by another 2 tonnes. The Czech central bank has adopted the slow, steady approach, buying gold for 36 straight months. The country added 20 tonnes to its holdings last year. The Czech Republic now holds 76 tonnes of gold. Czech officials say they plan to increase gold reserves to 100 tonnes by 2028.
The People’s Bank of China reported another 1-tonne increase in gold reserves in February, its 16th consecutive monthly purchase. It’s reported that gold reserves now stand at 2,308 tonnes, making up almost 10 percent of total official reserves.
Notice the emphasis on “official.”
China is among the central banks that are likely to hold significantly more gold than they publicly disclose. As Jan Nieuwenhuijs has reported, the People’s Bank of China is secretly buying large amounts of gold off the books. According to data parsed by the renowned Money Metals researcher, the Chinese central bank is currently sitting on more than 5,000 tonnes of monetary gold located in Beijing – more than TWICE what has been publicly admitted.
Mainstream reporting has finally picked up on this.
Cambodia was also a buyer in February, adding 1 tonne of gold to its stockpile.
Several African countries have turned to domestic gold-buying programs to boost their gold reserves. According to the World Gold Council, these countries view gold as a strategic diversification tool to boost reserves and manage risks to the economy in international financial markets.
Uganda announced a domestic gold-buying program two years ago, and purchases commenced this month. Officials say they plan to buy at least 100kg of gold between March and June this year from artisanal, medium, and large-scale domestic producers.
Kenya’s central bank Governor Kamau Thugge announced a similar plan at a news conference in early February.
Turkey was the biggest seller in February, unloading 8 tonnes of gold. The selling accelerated this month, as the Turkish central bank reduced its gold holdings by nearly 60 tonnes.
The Central Bank of Turkey has been one of the biggest central bank gold buyers over the last several years. It added to its gold reserves for 23 straight months through the end of October 2025. Now it is tapping into those reserves to support a struggling lira.
Central Bank of Turkey Governor Fatih Karahan noted that “a significant part of these transactions are in the nature of gold-currency swap futures. In other words, when it matures, the gold in question will return to our reserves.”
Russia reported a 6-tonne decline in its gold holdings. The country is tapping into its gold reserves to support the economy amidst aggressive economic sanctions as the Ukraine war drags on. The country’s gold holdings have dropped by more than 15 tonnes so far this year.
Looking at the broader trend, central bank gold buying moderated in 2025 but remained far above the recent historical average. Official net full-year buying came in at 863.3 tonnes. That was down 21 percent year-on-year, charting the lowest level since 2021.
However, while central bank gold purchases declined last year, they were still well above the 2010-2021 annual average of 473 tonnes.
Last year was the fourth-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record. The all-time high was set in 2022 (1,136 tonnes). It was the highest level of net purchases on record, dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.
The surging gold price was likely a factor in slowing central bank gold accumulation. As the World Gold Council put it, the higher price prompted “a more cautious approach.”
“This highlights that central banks are not insensitive to price dynamics, even as their long-term strategic interest in gold remains firmly intact.”
Despite the modest slowdown in gold accumulation, the World Gold Council remains bullish, saying that “persistent economic and geopolitical uncertainty is likely to sustain demand for gold as a reserve asset.”
“We maintain our view that central banks will continue to add gold to their reserves. Our Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2025 shows that respondents overwhelmingly (95 percent) expect global central bank gold reserves to increase over the next 12 months, while 43 percent believe that their own gold reserves will also increase over the same period. Notably, none of the respondents anticipate a decline in their gold reserves.”
You can read more details about that central bank survey HERE.
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
