(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) After holding reserves steady in July, central banks returned to gold buying in August.
Based on initial data, central banks globally increased gold reserves by 10 tonnes in July, but the late report of a 10-tonne sale by Indonesia dropped net purchases to zero for that month.
However, central banks were back in a buying mood in August, reporting a 15-tonne increase to global gold reserves. This was largely in line with monthly net purchases between March and June.
The rapidly rising price of gold (up around 45 percent this year) seems to have slowed central bank gold accumulation. Central banks globally added 166 tonnes of gold to their reserves in Q2. That was a 33 percent quarter-on-quarter decline and the lowest quarterly demand since Q2 2022.
However, gold buying was still 41 percent above the quarterly average that was typical between 2010 and 2021.
The World Gold Council notes that while central banks tend to make reserve decisions strategically, they are not totally insensitive to prices.
“As such, gold’s rally so far this year, up 26 percent, to new record levels, has likely contributed to the slowdown in central bank buying. But that they continue to add gold in the face of a higher price underscores their continuing favorable attitudes towards gold as a strategic asset amid such uncertainty.”
Kazakhstan was the biggest gold buyer in August, adding 8 tonnes to its reserves. It was the sixth consecutive month of gold accumulation for the Kazakh central bank. It currently holds 316 tonnes of gold, a 32-tonne increase since the end of 2024.
The Central Bank of Turkey increased its holdings by 2 tonnes in August. The Turkish central bank has been a net purchaser for 27 consecutive months – since June 2023.
The Czech Central Bank has followed a similar strategy – growing its gold reserves at a slow, steady pace. It added another 2 tonnes in August, its 30th straight month of gold accumulation. The Czech Republic now holds 65 tonnes of gold. Czech officials say they plan to increase gold reserves to 100 tonnes by 2028.
Bulgaria joined the list of buyers in August, increasing its reserves by 2 tonnes. It was the largest monthly increase in Bulgarian gold holdings since 1997. The country currently holds 43 tonnes of gold.
According to the World Gold Council, the Bulgarian central bank may have to transfer some of its gold to the European Central Bank as part of the process of joining the Eurozone.
China has reported an increase in its official reserves for 10 straight months, adding 2 more tonnes in August. The People’s Bank of China has increased its official holding by 38 tonnes in that span.
Total official Chinese gold reserves are now over 2,300 tonnes, making up around 7 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.
Poland and India stood pat in July. Even so, Poland remains the biggest gold buyer so far in 2025. The central bank recently announced plans to target its gold holdings at 30 percent of total reserves, up from the previous 20 percent target. It achieved that goal earlier this year.
Other banks reporting an increase in their gold holdings in August include:
- Uzbekistan – 2 tonnes
- Ghana – 2 tonnes
- El Salvador – 0.5 tonnes
There were only two reported sales, with both Russia and Indonesia decreasing gold reserves by 3 and 2 tonnes, respectively. According to the World Gold Council, the decrease in Russian reserves was likely related to its coin-minting program.
Despite the slowdown in central bank buying this year, the World Gold Council remains bullish.
“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.
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.
To put that into context, central bank gold reserves increased by an average of just 473 tonnes annually between 2010 and 2021.
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.
