Central banks continue to buy gold in 2025
News Arnulf Hinkel, Financial Journalist – 10.03.2025
Although their gold purchases already reached record levels in recent years, the world’s central banks once again increased their foreign currency reserves with gold in January 2025. It remains to be seen whether there will be such massive gold purchases this year as in the years before. In January 2025, a total of 18 tonnes more gold was bought than sold, which is significantly less than in the comparable months of 2023 (31 tonnes) and 2024 (39 tonnes). However, this does not necessarily mean that the central banks’ desire to buy is declining. The absolute record year of 2022, when gold reserves were increased by an unprecedented 1,082 tonnes, started with a net outflow of 12 tonnes in January.
Central banks increased their gold reserves for 15 years in a row
Gold reserves initially lost importance with the end of the last global gold standard, the Bretton Woods system, which saw central banks selling off some of their gold reserves. Central banks have, however, been playing an important role in gold demand continuously since 2010. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, gold purchases reached a level of over 1,000 tonnes per year for the first time. This was partly due to the existing geopolitical crisis situations, but also an expression of the efforts of emerging countries in particular to gain greater independence from the global currency US dollar.
Top gold buyers: countries in crisis regions and emerging markets
As in 2024, Ukraine’s direct neighbour Poland has been one of the largest gold buyers among central banks in 2025. In January 2025, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were also among the most active gold buyers. Among the countries that have been steadily increasing their foreign currency reserves in favour of gold for years, China and India were also very active in January 2025, as they have been in recent years. In view of the numerous unresolved geopolitical conflicts and the disruptive policies of the new US administration to date, further gold purchases by central banks are not unlikely.
