Marissa Salim

Central banks continue momentum of gold purchases into March 2025.

Demand for gold from central bankers continues, with data available for February showing reported global central bank gold reserves rising by 24t. Thus far, Poland, China, Turkey, and the Czech Republic have led gold demand from emerging market central banks. 

Central banks continued their strong interest for gold in January with reported net purchases of 18t. The sustained buying highlights the strategic importance of gold in official reserves, particularly as central banks navigate heightened geopolitical risks.

Central banks reported 3t of net selling in December via the IMF and other public data sources. The People’s Bank of China was the largest reported net buyer this month (10t), followed by Czech National Bank and Bank of Ghana with a tonne net purchases each. The National Bank of Kazakhstan was the largest seller (11t) during the month.

Gold priced in Australian Dollars (AUD) ended 2024 with a stunning 38% surge and continues to power higher. Looking ahead,  we believe the combination of robust investment demand together with risks on various fronts may provide further support for gold. Meanwhile, should the AUD remain under pressure, gold could shine brighter in Australian investor portfolios.

Central banks reported 47t of net purchases this month – the highest amount recorded y-t-d. The Central Bank of Turkey led the field, adding 17t of gold to its reserves, followed by India and Poland – 14t and 8t respectively.

Central banks reported net buying of 8t in August via the IMF and other public sources. Demand was the lowest reported figure since March 2024 with net buying activity coming from emerging markets.

Geopolitical risks have been elevated in recent years. And our analysis shows that spikes in geopolitical risk usually lead to equity market sell offs. While risk assets suffer during these periods, gold has delivered robust returns as an effective portfolio risk diversifier. And we believe gold can continue to benefit investors’ portfolios in today’s world as a geopolitical risk hedge and return enhancer following its stunning performance y-t-d.