Central Banks Buy 288.9 Tons of Gold in Q2 2026

Central banks around the world purchased an equivalent of 288.9 tons of gold during the second quarter of 2026, according to reports, a figure that reflects the ongoing strategic shift toward reserve diversification away from the dollar.

This level of purchases provides strong structural support for gold demand, counterbalanced by net sell outflows from Western exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that continue to record redemptions.

Countries such as China, India, Turkey, and several emerging economies top the list of the most active buyers, while Western central banks reconsider gold allocations within their reserve portfolios.

This pattern indicates that structural demand from the official sector forms a solid support base for gold prices over the long term, independent of short-term volatility driven by retail investment funds.

What do these terms mean?

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Investment funds traded on stock exchanges like stocks that enable investors to invest in gold without physically owning it.

Structural Demand: Constant and sustained demand for an asset due to structural factors such as government policies, which is not heavily affected by short-term price fluctuations.

Reserve Diversification: A strategy pursued by central banks to distribute their reserves among multiple assets such as gold, foreign currencies, and bonds to reduce reliance on a single currency.