Survey respondents predominantly manage gold as a separate reserve asset, while the preferred option when buying and holding physical gold is London Good Delivery bars. The Bank of England continues to be the favoured gold storage location, but central banks are increasingly diversifying their storage locations.
Technical and operational considerations of gold reserves management
16 June, 2026
Among survey respondents, 76% manage gold separately from other reserve assets, comparable to 75% last year (Q19). There was a slight increase – from 17% last year to 19% this year – in respondents who manage gold in the investment tranche. When it comes to why they manage gold separately (Q20), gold as a strategic asset was the top response, with 75% of respondents selecting this as a reason, this is a notable increase from the previous year (64%). 44% of respondents selected “It is a historical legacy asset” as a relevant reason, compared to 62% last year. Of these, 83% of advanced economies selected this option compared to 33% of EMDE. Accounting for gold differently to other asset classes was another instance where respondents from advanced economies and EMDE diverged, with no advanced economies choosing this option compared to 28% of EMDE economies; this is a sharp departure from the previous year when both were at 9%.
London Good Delivery bars continue to represent the majority of central bankers’ physical gold purchases, with 62% of all respondents choosing this option as their top preference. Drilling down into EMDE and advanced economies, 71% of EMDE respondents selected “Good Delivery bars” as their top choice, as did 33% of advanced economy respondents. EMDE respondents also bought gold doré and kilo bars, although these were much less popular options. This could represent how gold is purchased through domestic (LSM or ASGM) gold buying programmes, which some emerging market countries operate.1 Similarly, London Good Delivery bars also remain the primary way in which central banks hold gold, with 93% selecting this option as their top choice. Respondents in both EMDE and advanced economy groups showed similar preferences.
This year, 21% of respondents have considered upgrading gold holdings that do not conform to Good Delivery standards, a slight decrease compared to 22% in last year’s survey. When asked about considerations to establish a domestic gold purchase programme, 53% of EMDE central bankers told us that one is already in place, while 12% of EMDE respondents indicated they were considering establishing such a programme. One advanced economy central bank also indicated that it was considering this. 12 of the central banks with existing domestic buying programmes stated that they refined their gold at an LBMA Good Delivery List refinery, a decrease from 14 the previous year. Half of EMDE central banks with domestic buying programmes (8) indicated that they pay the spot international gold price for their gold. In contrast, four EMDE central banks pay a discount to the international gold price.
The Bank of England continues to be the most popular location for vaulting (57%) while 49% of central bankers indicated that “domestic storage” was where they currently vault at least part of their gold reserves, compared to 59% last year. It should be noted that 20% said they would "prefer not to respond", up significantly from 8% last year. This may have led to lower responses in other options. When asked if their custody arrangements have changed over the past 12 months, 9% indicated that they had increased domestic storage while 10% indicated that they had diversified overseas storage locations, a notable uptick from 5% and 2% respectively in last year’s survey. Looking forward to the next 12 months, there also appears to be an increase in central banks’ desire to change their storage arrangements, with 7% stating that they plan to increase domestic storage and 9% stating that they plan to diversify overseas storage locations. This desire to diversify overseas storage has seen a notable increase from just 2% in last year’s survey.
When asked if central banks actively manage their gold reserves, 37% of respondents answered positively – a return to 2024 levels. We also asked about their reasons for doing so: 85% of all respondents indicated “enhancing returns” and a significant 42% selected “risk management”. The latter has sharply increased from 22% in 2025, while “tactical trading” has seen a similar-sized decline in responses year-on-year.
