① The World Gold Council’s latest report revised downward the global central banks’ gold purchases in the first quarter of this year from 244 tonnes to 57 tonnes—the lowest first-quarter level in over 15 years—and projected that total annual purchases this year will decline compared to last year. ② This significant downward revision was primarily due to the reclassification of certain transactions and the fact that central banks are not obligated to disclose such data.
In its latest report released on Thursday, the World Gold Council (WGC) stated that global central bank gold purchases in the first quarter of this year were far below previous estimates. Although demand rebounded thereafter, the Council expects total annual purchases this year to decline compared to last year.
In this report, the World Gold Council made a substantial data revision: central banks’ first-quarter gold purchases were adjusted downward from 244 tonnes to 57 tonnes, marking the lowest first-quarter level in over 15 years. This adjustment suggests that the pace of central bank gold buying for the full year may fall short of the 2025 level.
Over the past four years, central bank gold buying has been a key driver of global gold demand and helped push gold prices to record highs earlier this year. Despite several months of price corrections this year, gold bulls remain confident that the bull market is not over, supported by robust central bank demand.
However, the World Gold Council also noted a significant rebound in central bank demand during the April–June quarter, with net purchases reaching a record-high 289 tonnes. Poland was the largest buyer, acquiring 51 tonnes, followed by China with 33 tonnes.
“Central banks will continue to maintain strong net buying activity, driven by portfolio diversification needs as well as hedging against inflation and risk. However, annual demand is expected to fall short of the total recorded in 2025,” the report stated.
Why is there such a large discrepancy in the reported figures?
In March this year, executives at the World Gold Council indicated that gold, as a hedge against de-dollarization and geopolitical risks, is expected to prompt central banks that have long stayed on the sidelines to purchase the precious metal this year.
Additionally, the World Gold Council’s 'Global Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2026,' released in June this year, showed that 45% of surveyed central bank reserve managers expect to increase their gold holdings over the next 12 months—an increase of two percentage points from the previous year and a record high.
Shaokai Fan, Head of Central Bank Relations at the World Gold Council, remarked at the time that central banks remain highly interested in gold and that recent declines in gold prices have not altered their willingness to accumulate the metal. He said, “Central banks remain very bullish on gold—in fact, more so than ever before.”
In short, all information released by the organization prior to Thursday pointed in the same direction—strong central bank demand. But could the downward revision really be this large? The World Gold Council’s official explanation was that 'certain transactions were reclassified.' The report stated that gold previously attributed to official buyers has now been reassigned to the 'over-the-counter and other' category.
Moreover, it is understood that central banks may disclose their purchases voluntarily, but are under no obligation to do so. Some major buyers only report part of their purchases, making it more difficult to accurately track actual gold acquisitions. According to the World Gold Council’s estimates, a significant portion of central bank gold buying is not self-reported by monetary authorities.
The World Gold Council relies on data provided by the consultancy Metals Focus, which combines publicly available information and market intelligence to estimate official quarterly gold purchases. John Reade, Chief Market Strategist at the World Gold Council, stated: 'These kinds of discrepancies occur from time to time. Since 2022, the quality of publicly disclosed information from central banks has declined somewhat.'
Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and U.S. sanctions against Russia, many emerging market economies began reducing their reliance on the U.S. dollar in foreign exchange reserves and curtailed disclosures of gold purchases. In response, the World Gold Council adopted a new methodology for tracking gold flows. However, once central banks become aware of the specific metrics used for monitoring, they may adjust their purchasing strategies accordingly.
‘Once they figure out how we’re tracking them, it becomes a bit of a cat-and-mouse game,’ added Reade.
Editor/Joe