Central banks across the world continued purchasing gold in August, with China continuing to lead the pack accumulating 20 tonnes, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) showed.
“Global central banks remain on pace with gold accumulation this August, with reported net buying totalling 39 tonnes. Large, consistent buyers of gold in 2026 showed continued activity in the month, with China taking the lead, followed by Uzbekistan and Poland,” said Marissa Salim, senior research lead, APAC, WGC.
On a year-to-date basis, central banks have reported total purchases of 170 tonnes.
She said putting August’s purchase of the yellow metal in broader context, analysis of reported central bank gold purchases between 2016 and 2025 suggests modest seasonal variation, although differences across years remain substantial, she said.
Long-term objectives
“Heightened economic or geopolitical uncertainty may play a role, but further analysis is needed to identify any strong and persistent underlying drivers. The composition of August’s buying is as notable as the headline total: demand was again led by familiar participants pursuing multi-year accumulation programmes,” said Salim.
Central banks’ purchases reflected long-term reserve objectives. The monthly fluctuations capture differences in market conditions and country-specific liquidity needs.
China’s gold buying continued for the 22nd consecutive month with the 20 tonnes. Beijing has added 80 tonnes this year to its gold reserves, with its reserves making up 9 per cent of the total reserves at 2,387 tonnes.
Poland ahead
The National Bank of Poland continued the precious metal’s accumulation, buying 8 tonnes in August. Poland tops in year-to-date gold purchases, buying 98 tonnes. It has accumulated 648 tonnes of gold, with its target of 700 tonnes of reserves getting closer in sight.
Salim said China could catch up with Poland in gold buying this year.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan bought 8 tonnes this month. It has accumulated 50 tonnes of the yellow metal this year. Uzbekistan’s gold holding now makes up 90 per cent of total reserves at 439 tonnes.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan bought 7 tonnes in August, with its gold purchases this year nearly 36 tonnes. Kazakhstan now has 79 per cent of total reserves in gold at 377 tonnes.
Russian sales continue
The Czech National Bank also bought 2 tonnes of gold in August. It has been buying the precious metal for 42 months consecutively. For the year, it has purchased 14 tonnes, and its gold holdings make up 7 per cent of the total reserves at 86 tonnes.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey bought 3 tonnes in August, a change after being a net seller in May, June and July. Ankara has sold 82 tonnes this year, with most of its sales taking place in the first quarter. Bolivian and Ghanaian banks bought one tonne each.
Turkey sold and swapped 58-60 tonnes of gold worth $8 billion to protect its currency, the lira, and its foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter.
On the other hand, the Central Bank of Russia continued offloading the precious metal in August. It sold another 6 tonnes, with total sales this year being 56 tonnes. Moscow’s total gold holdings have declined to 2,271 tonnes.
Gold down 25% since peak
Russia has been offloading the yellow metal to cover its budget deficit, as its defence expenditure has increased due to the Ukraine war. It has been losing oil and gas revenues due to sanctions by Western countries.
The US and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have frozen Russians’ foreign assets. This has forced Kremlin to liquidate physical gold and alternative reserves like the Chinese yuan.
Gold accumulation by central banks has been the major reason for the yellow metal’s sparkling rally since 2024. It peaked at $5,608 an ounce on January 29.
However, after the Iran war broke out, it has shed over 25 per cent of its gains on fears of inflation, hopes of the US Fed increasing interest rates and investors switching to energy commodities.
On Thursday, gold traded at $4,120 per ounce, down 5 per cent over the past month as crude oil prices rebounded renewed US-Iran dispute.