Central Banks Are Stockpiling Four Times as Much Gold as Usual and Moving It Out of the US, per Fortune
Central Banks Are Buying Gold at More Than Four Times the Usual Pace
Central banks around the world are quietly stockpiling four times as much gold as usual and are moving it out of the US, per Fortune.
Goldman Sachs wrote in a note earlier this week that it estimates central banks globally purchased 79 tonnes of gold in August, per Fortune. Central banks globally purchased an estimated 79 tonnes of gold in August, more than four times the pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes per month.
On a three-month seasonally adjusted basis, purchases are running at 85 tonnes per month, Goldman noted, per Fortune.
Holdings Are Shifting From New York to London
The buying is only part of the story. Where the gold is held is also changing, per Fortune.
Central bank holdings at the New York Fed declined 40 tonnes in August, Goldman added, per Fortune. Holdings at the Bank of England rose 46 tonnes over the same period.
The Dutch central bank separately confirmed it spent six months moving 86 tonnes of gold out of New York and Ottawa into London. De Nederlandsche Bank said the decision was driven by increasing geopolitical unrest and the desire to be better prepared for serious crises, per the bank.
France completed a similar shift earlier. The Banque de France sold 129 tonnes of gold held in New York and replaced it with gold acquired in Europe, per reports on its reserve program.
China Remains the Largest Identifiable Buyer
China accounted for the largest identifiable share of August buying at roughly 25 tonnes, per Goldman Sachs estimates cited in market reporting.
The People's Bank of China has now reported additions for 23 consecutive months, per those reports. Official Chinese holdings reached about 2,410 tonnes by the end of September, or roughly 8.5 percent of its foreign exchange reserves.
Goldman cited diversification away from G7 reserve currencies, above all the US dollar, as a key motivation. The bank said those incentives are likely to remain in place amid wars, tariff fights and the memory of frozen Russian assets, per its note.
Fortune framed the move against a broader backdrop of tested alliances. Wars involving Russia and Ukraine, and the US, Israel and Iran in the Middle East, have pushed governments to signal where their loyalties lie, in addition to President Trump's tariff agenda and the trade battles that followed.
Secrecy Around Storage Is Rising
Fortune reported that central banks do not want to share where they are keeping their gold.
Survey data cited in market coverage shows a rising share of central banks declining to disclose future gold storage locations. That suggests further custody moves may already be planned but not announced.
For reserve managers, the debate has shifted from whether to hold gold to where to keep it. Gold held at the Bank of England is described by the Dutch central bank as the most easily tradable in the world, and therefore the fastest to deploy when markets seize.
What This Means for Markets
Sustained official sector buying provides a structural bid under gold even when interest rates rise or speculative positioning thins. A pace of 85 tonnes per month on a three-month basis annualizes to roughly 1,000 tonnes, compared with about 200 tonnes annualized before 2022.
Goldman Sachs projects gold could reach $5,400 per ounce by the end of 2027, per analyst forecasts cited in market reporting. That outlook will keep focus on miners and gold-backed funds if central bank demand holds.
Stocks and funds to watch include GLD, the largest gold-backed ETF, for flow and options activity tied to the metal. NEM is the largest US-listed gold miner and a common proxy for leveraged gold exposure. GOLD offers another large miner exposure, while GDX tracks a basket of gold miners. GS is the source of the central bank estimates cited by Fortune.
Traders will also watch the US dollar and Treasury markets. Persistent reserve diversification away from dollar assets can become a longer term headwind if the custody shift accelerates.
Bottom Line
The August data point is not a one-month spike in isolation. Buying is running well above the pre-2022 pace, and custody is moving from New York toward London at the same time.
That combination is why the gold move is drawing attention beyond the metals market.
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