Central banks bought a net 244 tons of gold in Q1 2026, the fastest pace in over a year, as the March price slump drew in buyers led by Poland, Uzbekistan and China, World Gold Council data shows.
Summary:
- Net official sector gold purchases totalled 244 tons in the first quarter of 2026, up from 208 tons in the previous quarter and the fastest pace of accumulation in more than a year, according to World Gold Council estimates
- Poland, Uzbekistan and China were the largest reported buyers, though a portion of purchases across the quarter were undisclosed and not captured in IMF statistics
- Gold hit a record of nearly $5,600 per ounce on January 29 before falling 12% in March, its biggest monthly decline since 2008, after the outbreak of the US-Iran war sent energy prices surging and raised expectations of tighter monetary policy
- Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan were among the sellers, offloading an estimated combined 115 tons for institution-specific reasons: Turkey to support its currency, Russia to fund a budget deficit, and Azerbaijan to bring holdings within permitted limits
- The WGC’s chief strategist described the March correction as the first meaningful pullback in some time, allowing central banks that had been waiting for lower prices to make substantial purchases
- Spot gold was trading near $4,600 per ounce ahead of the report’s release, well below its January peak
- The WGC’s estimates are compiled by consultancy Metals Focus using public data, trade statistics and field research, as a significant portion of central bank gold activity is never officially disclosed
Central banks accumulated gold at the fastest quarterly pace in more than a year in the opening three months of 2026, with net official sector purchases reaching 244 tons, up from 208 tons in the final quarter of 2025, according to World Gold Council estimates. The acceleration came despite, and in large part because of, the most volatile quarter for gold prices in years.
Gold peaked at nearly $5,600 per ounce on January 29 before the outbreak of the US-Iran war triggered a sharp reversal. Soaring energy prices lifted inflation expectations globally, raising the prospect of central banks holding borrowing costs higher for longer. Since gold bears no interest, that is a traditional headwind for the metal, and prices reflected the logic, shedding 12% across March alone in the biggest monthly decline since 2008. Spot bullion was trading near $4,600 at the time of the WGC’s publication.
That correction proved to be a trigger rather than a deterrent for official buyers. WGC chief strategist John Reade described it as the first meaningful pullback in some time, with central banks that had been waiting for lower prices moving decisively once the opportunity appeared. Poland, Uzbekistan and China were the largest disclosed buyers, though a significant portion of official sector activity goes unreported and does not appear in IMF data.
Gross buying was partially offset by sales from Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan, which shed an estimated combined 115 tons. Each had institution-specific reasons: Turkey to support its currency, Russia to cover a budget deficit, and Azerbaijan to bring holdings back within permitted limits. The motivations were idiosyncratic rather than symptomatic of any structural retreat from gold as a reserve asset, and the net accumulation figure confirmed as much.
The broader trend of central bank gold buying, driven by de-dollarisation strategies and demand for assets with no counterparty exposure, remains firmly intact. Whether that pace holds as prices recover toward January’s record high is the key question for gold market structure ahead.
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The data is structurally bullish for gold over the medium term. A quarterly accumulation of 244 tons, the fastest pace in over a year, confirms that the official sector continues to treat price weakness as a buying opportunity rather than a signal to reduce exposure. The March correction, which saw gold shed 12% in its biggest monthly drop since 2008 after the outbreak of the US-Iran war, did not deter central banks but actively accelerated their purchases. That dynamic places a demand floor under the market at lower price levels that is likely to persist as long as the geopolitical and monetary policy uncertainty driving de-dollarisation trends remains in place.
The selling by Turkey, Russia and Azerbaijan, totalling an estimated 115 tons, was idiosyncratic rather than systemic: Turkey managing currency pressure, Russia covering a budget deficit, Azerbaijan managing portfolio limits. None of those motivations signals a structural shift away from gold as a reserve asset. With spot gold trading near $4,600 at the time of the report, well below the January record of nearly $5,600, the price recovery from the March trough suggests the buying identified in the WGC data has already begun to provide support. The question for markets is whether the pace of accumulation holds if prices recover toward record highs and remove the value argument that drew in buyers during the correction.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
