The PBoC’s September gold purchase: 23 tonnes and a seven-month acceleration

China’s official gold reserves rose again in September, by more than in any month for three years. Data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), analysed by The Vault Report, show the People’s Bank of China added 740,000 ounces — about 23 tonnes.

The arithmetic

As reported by The Vault Report from SAFE data. One tonne is about 32,150 troy ounces.

A seven-month acceleration

Monthly additions as reported by The Vault Report from SAFE data; tonnes are our conversion.

The size of September’s purchase is only part of the story. According to The Vault Report, the pace of buying has increased every month since February — though August’s step up, 10,000 ounces, is the smallest unit SAFE reports in, so that month was really flat. The year-to-date total of about 103 tonnes is nearly four times what China reported buying in all of 2025. That fits the World Gold Council’s August figures, which had China as the largest central-bank buyer that month at 20 tonnes — see the August scoreboard.

How big is big?

The Vault Report is careful on one point that is easy to get wrong: September was the largest addition since September 2023, but it is not China’s largest month ever. In 2023, when the PBoC was buying at the fastest pace in its reported history, three months were larger (February, August and September, the last at 840,000 ounces) and two were the same size (July and October). “Biggest in three years” is accurate; “record” is not. Reports also differ on the conversion — at least one headline put September at 21 tonnes — but 740,000 ounces is 23 tonnes.

It is also worth remembering what these numbers are: what China reports. Some analysts believe the country’s true official gold buying is larger than the published figures, but that is an estimate, and the SAFE data are the only official record.

What the October print would tell us

SAFE publishes reserves data early each month, so October’s figure will appear in early November. A 24th month of buying would extend the streak; a smaller addition would break the run of acceleration; a pause would be the first in two years. Each would say something about how Beijing is reading the gold price. We do not try to guess which. CNBC’s wider look at China’s demand — including record imports by households and companies — is in China’s record gold imports.

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.