Desk Report,
Central banks’ gold purchases are increasing across countries, 43% want to buy more
The role of central banks in controlling gold prices in the global market is important. This trend has increased since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. The World Gold Council’s (WGC) Central Bank Gold Reserve Survey 2025 said that 43 percent of central banks are interested in increasing their gold reserves.
Central banks’ gold purchases are increasing across countries, 43% want to buy more
The survey also revealed that 95 percent of central banks believe that they have enough gold in their treasuries for the next 12 months. The reality is that many countries are now looking for alternatives to the dollar as the United States used the dollar as a weapon against Russia after the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, central banks’ gold purchases have increased.
According to the US media Investor.com, the gold held by central banks worldwide by the end of last year was about 20 percent of government reserves, or about 36,200 tons. At the end of 2023, this rate was about 15 percent. According to IMF data, central banks are expected to buy an additional 900 tons of gold this year.
Analysts say the main reason for this inclination towards gold is that central banks’ confidence in using the dollar as a reserve currency is decreasing day by day. Monetary authorities of anti-US countries will probably continue to buy gold as an alternative to the dollar.
The report also says that the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are all big buyers of gold, as they are interested in creating an alternative to the dollar. The People’s Bank of China has increased its gold reserves for the seventh consecutive month. In May, their reserves stood at 3.285 trillion 328 billion dollars.
However, the price of gold was not low at that time, but rather the price of gold has increased significantly this year. Analysts say that the fact that China’s central bank continues to buy gold despite the high price shows how much Beijing is in a hurry to reduce its dependence on the dollar. Another reflection of this can be seen in China’s decline in its tendency to buy US Treasury bonds. While China held US debt worth $784 billion in February, it fell to $757 billion by the end of April. That is, a decrease of about $27 billion in two months.
According to a WGC study, currently 47 percent of central banks purchase gold from both large and small mines. 37 percent of their gold purchases come from large mines and 16 percent from small mines; the rest comes from the market. However, there is slight variation in this number across countries, according to the WGC.
In April this year, the price of gold in the global market reached an all-time high. At that time, the price of gold rose to $3,500 per ounce. At the time of writing, the price of gold was $3,250. But financial analysts have warned that if central banks do not stop buying gold, its price may rise again.
It is known that the tendency of central banks to buy gold is increasing due to increasing instability in the international arena.
