Gold has taken on new lustre for global central banks, according to the 2025 Central Banks Gold Reserve Survey released overnight.
The survey has confirmed that an overwhelming majority of respondents expect gold reserves to increase, up from last year.
The survey highlights have been listed as:
43% of respondents say they have plans to increase their gold reserves in the coming 12 months, up from 29% last year.
95% of respondents believe that central banks overall will increase their gold reserves in the coming 12 months, up from 81% last year.
76% of respondents believe that gold will be a larger proportion of global reserve assets in 5 years’ time, up from 69% last year.
73% of respondents believe that the US dollar will be a smaller proportion of global reserve assets in 5 years’ time, up from 62% last year.
Gold’s performance during times of crisis, its use as an effective portfolio diversifier, and its role as a long-term store of value were the top three most relevant reasons for central banks to hold gold.
The survey collected data from 73 of the world’s central banks and noted that gold continues to be used as a safe-haven asset to help mitigate risks amid ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
The top three current motivations for holding the asset have shifted to its long-term store of value (80%), its role as an effective portfolio diversifier (81%), and its performance in times of crisis (85%).
Commenting on the survey Global Head of Central Banks & Head of Asia-Pacific (ex-China),Shaokai Fan said after eight years of conducting the survey nearly half of central bank respondents intend to increase their own holdings in the coming year.
“This is remarkable, especially considering how many record-high prices we’ve hit so far in 2025,” he said.