(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) The pace of central bank gold buying picked up slightly in May.
Globally, central banks officially added a net 20 tonnes of gold to their reserves in May, according to the latest data compiled by the World Gold Council. This compares to 14 tonnes in April.
While the pace of gold buying picked up, it remained slightly below the 12-month average of 27 tonnes.
Gold touched a record high of $3,500 an ounce in April. The World Gold Council said the slowdown in central bank purchases could be in part “a response to the rapid appreciation in the gold price since the start of the year.”
“While the rally to multiple new record highs is unlikely to deter central banks from buying gold – as they tend to be more strategic in nature – it could explain some of the deceleration in the pace of monthly net buying.”
However, based on the World Gold Council’s 2025 Central Bank Gold Survey, the buying trend will continue.
Of the 73 central banks that responded to the survey, 95 percent said they believe central bank gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months. A record 43 percent of the respondents indicated they expect their own gold reserves to expand. That was up from 29 percent in 2024.
Which Countries Bought and Sold Gold in May?
The National Bank of Kazakhstan was the biggest buyer in May, adding 7 tonnes of gold to its reserves. Since the beginning of the year, Kazakh gold holdings are up by about 15 tonnes.
The Central Bank of Turkey expanded its gold reserves by 6 tonnes. Turkey was one of the biggest buyers in 2024. While the pace of buying has slowed, the Turkish government will likely continue adding gold to its holdings. Meanwhile, the Turkish people are also buying a lot of gold as they deal with significant price inflation.
Poland continued increasing its gold holdings, adding another 6 tonnes to its reserves in May.
At 515 tonnes, the National Bank of Poland now holds more gold than the European Central Bank.
The NBP has increased its gold reserves by 67 tonnes since the beginning of the year. Poland was the biggest buyer in 2024 as well, adding 90 tonnes to its holdings.
Last year, National Bank of Poland Governor Adam Glapiński indicated the central bank plans to increase its gold holdings to 20 percent of its reserves.
“This makes Poland a more credible country, we have a better standing in all ratings, we are a very serious partner, and we will continue to buy gold.”
The Polish central bank has exceeded that level and continues to add to its reserves.
The People’s Bank of China reported an increase in its official reserves for the seventh straight month, adding another 2 tonnes to its reported holdings. That pushed its official gold holdings to 2,296 tonnes, about 6.5 percent of its total reserves.
Notice the emphasis on “official.”
China is one of the central banks that likely holds significantly more gold than it publicly discloses. 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.
Several other banks reported increases in their gold reserves.
- Czech Republic – 2 tonnes
- Kyrgyz Republic – 1 tonne
- Cambodia – 1 tonne
- Philippines – 1 tonne
- Ghana – 1 tonne
Updated April data revealed that Qatar increased its reserves by 2 tonnes that month.
Singapore was the biggest seller, decreasing its reserves by 5 tonnes.
Uzbekistan sold 1 tonne of gold in May. The Uzbek central bank has been the biggest seller of the year, decreasing its reserves by 27 tonnes. It is not uncommon for banks that buy from domestic production – such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – to switch between buying and selling.
The German central bank also decreased its reserves by 1 tonne in May.
Big Picture
On net, central banks officially increased their gold holdings by 1,044.6 tonnes in 2024. It was the 15th consecutive year of expanding gold reserves.
Last year was the third-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record, coming in just 6.2 tonnes lower than in 2023 and 91 tonnes lower than the all-time high set in 2022. (1,136 tonnes). 2022 was the highest level of net purchases on record, dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.
Looking at the broader perspective, the central bank gold buying trend is now entering its 16th year.
World Gold Council analysts expect the trend to continue, with buying “close to the range seen over the past three years on continued elevated trade-related risks and uncertainty premia in U.S. assets.”
The WGC also noted that “diversification” with “a reduction of U.S. assets” is one of the factors driving central bank gold buying. In other words, de-dollarization.
“We don’t see an end to this narrative unless there is a material shift in geopolitical tensions. The IMF has downgraded growth prospects in the U.S. more than in other major economies, citing policy uncertainty. This suggests that other countries may have leverage in negotiations, although these typically last months and years, not weeks. Hence, we don’t expect any near-term resolutions.”
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.
