Who’s buying the world’s gold? The central bank scoreboard for August 2026

Whatever else moved the gold price over the summer, one kind of buyer did not stop. Central banks added a net 39 tonnes of gold to their reserves in August, according to the World Gold Council’s monthly central-bank statistics, taking net purchases for the year so far to 170 tonnes.

The August scoreboard

Figures as reported by the World Gold Council.

China’s 22-month streak

China’s central bank has now reported gold purchases for 22 months in a row, the WGC says, and in August it was the largest single buyer. China’s reported buying has become one of the most closely watched data points in the gold market, partly because of its consistency and partly because it is part of a wider move by emerging-market reserve managers to hold less of their reserves in US dollars.

Poland’s race to 700 tonnes

The National Bank of Poland bought another 8 tonnes, bringing its holdings to 648 tonnes. It has set itself a target of 700 tonnes, which leaves 52 tonnes to go. Few central banks publish a target at all, so Poland’s buying is unusually predictable: it has told the market how much more it intends to buy.

Gold on the move: the Netherlands and London

The WGC also notes a transfer announced in early September by the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank: 86 tonnes of its gold moved from New York and Ottawa to London. A transfer is not a purchase or a sale — the country owns exactly as much gold afterwards as before — so it does not change the totals above. London is the centre of the global wholesale gold market, and the Bank of England vaults hold gold for many central banks, so metal kept there can be lent, swapped or sold without first being shipped.

What it means for long-term holders

Central-bank demand behaves differently from almost every other kind of buying. It is large, and it is largely insensitive to price: a reserve manager building a strategic position does not usually stop because gold got more expensive. That is why steady official buying is often described as a floor under the market — not a guarantee, but a source of demand that does not disappear when sentiment turns. Our guide to what moves the gold price explains how it fits with the other forces, and this quarter’s record ETF inflows show investors doing something similar.

Every figure here is as reported by the publications listed under Sources, at the time they reported it. Prices move; the live gold price has the current one. Nothing on this page is investment advice.