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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 2, 2026

 

 

MUMBAI – Leading global central banks net purchased 41 tonnes of gold in May, continuing their buying from April, when they had net bought 17 tonnes, the World Gold Council said in a report Thursday. Poland continued to be the largest buyer at 18 tonnes in May, the fourth consecutive month of double-digit net buying. Poland now holds 614 tonnes of gold in its reserves, said the report penned by Marissa Salim, senior research lead, APAC, World Gold Council.

 

For the 20th consecutive month of net buying, the People's Bank of China added 10 tonnes to its gold reserves – the highest monthly addition since December 2024. Until now this in the calendar year, China has added 25 tonnes to its gold reserves and is among the top three accumulators so far this year. China's official gold reserves now stand at 2,331 tonnes, the report said.

 

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan accumulated 9 tonnes of gold in May, with year-to-date gold purchases at 33 tonnes, second only to Poland.

 

The Central Bank of Kazakhstan net bought 7 tonnes of gold in May, taking its holding to 361 tonnes. The report found the Monetary Authority of Singapore entering the buy side for the first time since September, purchasing on a net basis 4 tonnes of the yellow metal, raising its holding to 197 tonnes.

 

On other hand, the Central Bank of Russia continued its streak of net selling in May too, offloading 6 tonnes of gold. Year to date, Russia has sold 34 tonnes of gold, lowering its total gold holdings to 2,292 tonnes, the report observed.

 

In May, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey also sold 3 tonnes of gold, offloading 81 tonnes of gold so far this year.

 

Interestingly, the Bank of Korea has reportedly completed preparations to invest in overseas gold-backed ETFs as part of its strategy of foreign currency asset diversification. According to a report, gold-backed ETFs were the instrument of choice due to their high liquidity and lower storage costs.

 

The Council also observed some Latin American central banks picking up new gold buying activity. Chile has accumulated around 8 tonnes of gold this year, followed by Guatemala at 2 tonnes and Bolivia and Uruguay at 1 tonne each. "While this region has seen some geopolitical heat recently, it is too early to tell if this trend will gain traction or broaden out to match other Latin American peers," the report said.  End

 

Reported by Abhijit Doshi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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