Why Are Central Banks Buying Record Amounts of Gold in 2026?
Central banks bought 1,200 tonnes of gold in 2025 — the fourth consecutive year above 1,000 tonnes. China now holds 2,257 tonnes, India 822 tonnes. We explain the de-dollarisation trend reshaping global gold demand.
The Central Bank Gold Buying Boom
The single most important structural driver of gold's bull market since 2022 has not been retail investors, hedge funds, or even inflation fears. It has been central banks. In 2025, the world's central banks purchased a combined 1,200 tonnes of gold — the fourth consecutive year in which net purchases exceeded 1,000 tonnes, and far above the long-term average of 400–500 tonnes per year.
This is not a temporary trend. It reflects a profound and potentially permanent shift in how central banks around the world think about their reserve assets — away from US dollar-denominated instruments and towards physical gold.
Which Central Banks Are Buying the Most?
| Country / Institution | Total Gold Reserves (2026) | 2025–2026 Activity |
|---|---|---|
| USA (Federal Reserve) | 8,133 tonnes | No change (largest holder by far) |
| Germany (Bundesbank) | 3,352 tonnes | Stable |
| China (PBoC) | 2,257 tonnes | +25t in Feb 2026; consistent buyer |
| India (RBI) | 822 tonnes | Active buyer; up from 600t in 2020 |
| Russia (CBR) | 2,335 tonnes | Buying under sanctions; gold = sanctions-proof reserve |
| Turkey (TCMB) | 590+ tonnes | Major buyer; offsetting lira weakness |
| Poland (NBP) | 480 tonnes | Tripled reserves since 2019 |
| Singapore (MAS) | 220+ tonnes | Added 70t in 2024–2025 |
What Is De-Dollarisation and Why Does It Drive Gold Buying?
For decades after World War II, the US dollar served as the undisputed global reserve currency. Central banks held the majority of their foreign exchange reserves in US Treasury bonds, earning interest while maintaining liquidity. Gold was largely sidelined.
Several events have fractured this arrangement:
- Russia sanctions (2022): When the US and EU froze $300 billion of Russia's dollar reserves, every other central bank in the world received the same message: dollar reserves can be confiscated. Gold stored domestically cannot. This single event is widely credited with triggering the sustained central bank gold-buying surge.
- US fiscal concerns: With US national debt above $38 trillion and rising, some central banks have begun diversifying out of Treasuries to reduce concentration risk.
- BRICS expansion: The BRICS bloc — now including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Ethiopia — has been discussing a gold-backed trade settlement mechanism. BRICS nations collectively now hold 17.4% of global gold reserves, up from 11.2% in 2019.
- Geopolitical polarisation: Countries that perceive themselves as potentially subject to Western financial sanctions are prioritising gold as a neutral, sanction-proof reserve asset.
China's Gold Strategy
China's People's Bank of China (PBoC) is widely viewed as the most strategically motivated gold buyer. China's official gold reserves of 2,257 tonnes represent only about 5–6% of its total reserves — far below the 20–25% gold share held by major Western central banks. Analysts believe China is on a multi-decade trajectory to increase this share significantly.
Notably, China's actual gold accumulation is believed to be higher than officially reported. Gold purchases routed through the Shanghai Gold Exchange are not always immediately reported to the IMF, leading to periodic large upward revisions in China's stated reserves.
India's RBI Gold Buying
The Reserve Bank of India has increased its gold reserves from approximately 600 tonnes in 2020 to 822 tonnes in early 2026 — an increase of more than 37%. This accumulation reflects India's desire to reduce dollar dependency, hedge against rupee depreciation, and ensure that a larger portion of its reserves are stored physically in India rather than overseas.
Interestingly, India's central bank gold buying has run in parallel with record-high retail gold imports — meaning both institutional and retail Indian buyers have been driving demand simultaneously.
How Long Will This Trend Continue?
The World Gold Council's 2026 survey of central bank reserve managers found that over 70% expect global gold reserves to increase over the next five years, and a majority cited de-dollarisation and geopolitical risk as their primary motivations. Only 5% expected a decrease.
At the current pace of 1,000+ tonnes per year of central bank buying, the structural floor under gold prices is significantly higher than it was before 2022. Even if retail and ETF demand softens, central bank demand alone is sufficient to absorb most mine supply — a dynamic that was almost non-existent just five years ago.
Track the gold price impact in real time on our homepage, or see our India and China gold price pages for local rates.
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