Central banks continued buying gold in October despite soaring prices, says WGC

Though gold hit a record high of $4,381.58 an ounce on October 17, central banks across the world continued buying the precious metal, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) showed. 

However, gold purchases by them have been lower than in the past three years when compared with the January-October period. 

“Central bank demand for gold remained robust in October, totalling 53 tonnes (+36% month-on-month)and continuing the strong trend seen throughout the year. Buying remained concentrated among a small number of central banks, led by the National Bank of Poland, which became active again during the month,” said Krishna Gopaul, WGC senior analyst, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

Year-to-date reported net purchases as of October 31, totalled 254 tonnes. It was at a slower pace than the previous three years. 

Strategic buys

“This possibly reflects the impact of higher prices. Even so, sustained activity from emerging-market central banks – supported by the findings from our annual survey – strongly suggests that these purchases are strategic rather than opportunistic, reinforcing gold’s importance amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty,” said the WGC senior analyst.

The National Bank of Poland re-entered the market in October, after pausing its purchases from May. The increased its gold allocation to 30 per cent of its reserves. It bought 16 tonnes in October, lifting its gold reserves to 531 tonnes, which made up 26 per cent of total reserves at end-October prices.

Year-to-date, the National Bank of Poland (83 tonnes) continues to be the largest official-sector gold buyer, with its purchases double that of the next largest buyer, Kazakhstan (41 tonnes).

The Central Bank of Brazil bought gold for the second consecutive month, adding 16 tonnes in October following its 15-tonne purchase in September. Its gold reserves are now 161 tonnes, accounting for 6 per cent of its total reserves, said Gopaul.

Central Bank of Russia sells

Other buyers of the precious metal were the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (9 tonnes), Bank Indonesia (4 tonnes), Central Bank of Turkey (3 tonnes), Czech National Bank (2 tonnes) and  National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (2 tonnes).

Bank of Ghana, People’s Bank of China, National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Central Bank of the Philippines bought a little less than one tonne in October.

The Central Bank of Russia was the only one which sold three tonnes – to cash in on the record-high prices. Its reserves are now down to  2,327 tonnes.

 Gold buying continues to be concentrated among emerging-market central banks, said the WGC senior analyst. 

Gopaup said the National Bank of Serbia plans to boost its gold reserves to at least 100 tonnes by 2030. This will nearly be doubling of its current holdings of 52 tonnes.

He said at the recent London Bullion Market Association conference in Kyoto, Madagascar and South Korea signalled interest in increasing their gold reserves. However, both nations have provided any specific timeline for their plans.

Published on December 3, 2025