Central banks across the world returned to buy gold in August after keeping a low profile in July, the World Gold Council (WGC) said, quoting data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and respective banks.
They added a net 15 tonnes to global gold reserves. The purchases were in line with their monthly buys between March and June.
However, the Central Bank of Russia sold three tonnes and Bank Indonesia two tonnes during the month. The Indonesian bank continued to offload its gold for the second consecutive month, following a sale of 11 tonnes in July.
“The reduction in Russian gold reserves is likely related to its coin-minting programme,” said Krishan Gopaul, senior analyst, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at WGC said. The WGC lowered its initial July estimate of 10 tonnes purchase, after the Indonesian bank reported the sale.
Tactical selling
The council, representing global gold producers, said the recent rally in the precious metal’s price was a constraint on the level of buying by central banks. “It may be a factor in more tactical selling too,”Gopaul said.
However, the recent slowdown in buying by the banks does not “necessarily signal” that central banks as a whole are losing interest in the yellow metal. “In fact, recent developments show that central banks remain keen to continue increasing their exposure,” he said.
Gold ended the week at $3,886.55 an ounce, near the record high of $3,897 registered earlier during the week. Gold December futures in the US ended at $3,908.90 an ounce.
In India, gold (999 fineness) was quoted at ₹1,16,950 per 10 gm in the Mumbai spot market. On MCX, gold December futures ended at ₹1,18,100 per 10 gm. The precious metal’s current rally is attributed to haven demand due to the US government shutdown and rising expectations of a dovish stance by the Federal Reserve.
Bulgarian move
Gopaul said seven central banks bought one tonne or more in August, with the National Bank of Kazakhstan purchasing 8 tonnes. The Kazakh bank, which bought the precious metal for the sixth consecutive month, now holds 316 tonnes, up 32 tonnes since the beginning of this year.
Bulgaria’s monthly gold reserves, up by 2 tonnes in August, increased the most after 28 years, when it bought 8 tonnes in June 1997. The East European nation now holds 43 tonnes.
“In January 2026, Bulgaria will become the 21st member state of the eurozone and may transfer some gold to the ECB as part of the accession procedure,” he said.
The Central Bank of Turkey, the People’s Bank of China, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the Czech National Bank, and the Bank of Ghana purchased two tonnes each in August.
Czech bank’s target
With these buys, Turkey’s gold reserves are up at 639 tonnes, while China’s holdings are above 2,300 tonnes. Gold reserves in Uzbekistan are 366 tonnes, and in the Czech Republic, whose buying streak has continued for 30 months, 65 tonnes.
The WGC EMEA analyst said the Czech National Bank has set a target to hold 100 tonnes of gold reserves by December 2028.
Gopaul said the National Bank of Poland, the leading purchase of the yellow metal in 2025, raised its target in September for its gold share in global reserves to 30 per cent from 20 per cent. The bank has indicated that it will resume buying the precious metal actively. However, the scale and pace of purchases will depend on market conditions.
Published on October 4, 2025