Category 1: Continuous Increase in Holdings
1. China: Net purchases of gold in July reached approximately 20 tons, marking the fifth consecutive month of increases and the highest monthly increase since October 2023. As of the end of July, China's official gold reserves reached approximately 2377.5 tons, a record high.
2. Poland: One of the most aggressive buyers this year. Poland added approximately 51 tons of gold in the second quarter, making it the largest buyer among global central banks, with total holdings reaching 550 tons. As of the end of June, Poland had become one of the representative countries for European Central Bank gold purchases. Its characteristic is: not occasional purchases, but a continuous effort to enhance the strategic position of gold in foreign exchange reserves.
3. Kazakhstan: Continued purchases, but with a more "resource-based country reserve management" approach. The Central Bank of Kazakhstan added approximately 15 tons in the second quarter, ranking among the world's top five gold buyers. Kazakhstan itself is a major gold producer, therefore its gold purchases have a special characteristic: it can directly supplement its official reserves using domestic gold production, unlike Poland, which mainly relies on international markets.
4. Czech Republic: The Czech central bank has been steadily increasing its gold reserves, indicating a significant shift in its strategic stance. The central bank added approximately 6 tons of gold in the second quarter. While the absolute amount is small, its significance lies in the fact that the Czech central bank previously had very low gold reserves and is now systematically increasing its gold holdings.
This demonstrates that even developed European economies are beginning to re-emphasize the role of gold in their official reserves. Therefore, central bank gold purchases cannot be simply interpreted as "de-dollarization of emerging markets."
5. Singapore: Singapore has become a buyer again. In May, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) made net purchases of approximately 4 tons of gold, marking its first increase in gold holdings since September 2025. As a major global financial center and foreign exchange reserve management center, Singapore's renewed gold purchases signal a degree of reserve diversification.
Second Category: A relatively positive attitude, but with an unstable pace of purchases.
6. India: India's gold reserves have also been increasing recently. Changes in India's gold reserves need to be considered in conjunction with its massive foreign exchange reserves. As of August 14, India's foreign exchange reserves reached approximately US$716.9 billion, an increase of nearly US$10 billion in one week, of which gold reserves increased by approximately US$2.7 billion.
India's gold holdings have increased more in tandem with the overall growth of its foreign exchange reserves.
Category 3: Phased Selling
7. Turkey: This year, Turkey has been a clear seller. It has net sold approximately 83 tons of gold this year, with a large portion concentrated in the first quarter. This is related to Turkey's own economic and financial environment. Following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, Turkey's gold reserves experienced a significant decline. In March alone, they decreased by nearly 50 tons, the largest weekly drop since 2018. Therefore: Turkey does not represent a global trend of central banks "starting to sell gold," but rather reflects its own unique circumstances regarding foreign exchange, exchange rates, and liquidity management.
8. Russia: Russia has also been selling gold this year. As of the second quarter, Russia has net sold approximately 44 tons this year. WGC data shows that Russia remains one of the major official gold sellers recently. Russia has been a typical example of global central bank gold purchases in recent years, and its current selling indicates that: Central bank gold purchases are not a one-way trend; fiscal pressure, foreign exchange liquidity, and war-related funding needs will still force some countries to sell gold.
Others
9. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank: The focus is not on "buying," but on the "strategic position of gold." The situation is different for developed economies such as the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of Japan. They haven't shown any significant, sustained increase in gold holdings. However, this doesn't mean they consider gold unimportant. Especially in recent years: central banks' repositioning of gold reflects more on its elevated status as a reserve asset, rather than the requirement for all central banks to buy large quantities of gold.
