The People's Bank of China bought more gold in February, extending its purchasing streak to 16 consecutive months since November 2024.
Addition: 30,000 troy ounces, bringing total reserves to 74.22 million fine troy ounces.
The details
China's gold as a share of total reserves: roughly 8.5%.
For comparison: the US sits at 75%, Germany at 70%, Russia above 20%.
Global central bank average: 15-20%.
For the world's second-largest economy, 8.5% is remarkably low. Analysts have long suspected China holds far more gold than officially reported - estimates range up to 4,000-6,000 tonnes versus the stated roughly 2,300.
Globally, central bank buying slowed sharply in January: just 5 tonnes, compared to the 12-month average of 27 tonnes.
Counter-trend from Europe: Poland's central bank chief Adam Glapinski proposed liquidating parts of the country's 550-tonne gold reserves to generate $13 billion for defense spending. The proposal briefly knocked $70 off the gold price. Russia and Venezuela have also offloaded gold recently.
Buying while others sell
Gold has traded above the $5,000 mark since late January.
Current price: around $5,100 per ounce, down from an all-time high of $5,595 in January.
The main driver: escalating Middle East tensions. After joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, investors rotated heavily into safe-haven assets.
China's buying follows a different logic: The PBOC is systematically diversifying away from the dollar. As long as geopolitical tensions persist and the dollar's role as sole reserve currency is questioned, this trend is unlikely to change.
👉 Sources: Bloomberg, BusinessTimes, Yahoo Finance
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