By end-2025 gold accounted for 27% of global official reserves, surpassing US
Treasuries by 5 percentage points and becoming the largest single asset class in
official reserves. Central banks have been heavy buyers since 2022: net
purchases exceeded 1,000t annually in 2022–24 and totaled 863t in 2025. Despite
sustained buying, international gold prices have weakened recently. Market
drivers cited include large rallies in 2024–25 that created technical pullback
pressure, and Middle East-driven energy price and inflation upside that has
pushed markets to price a greater risk of Fed tightening, weighing on bullion
and producing a short-term divergence between central bank buying and spot gold
moves.
