(Kitco News) – While high prices saw sovereign buying tail off somewhat toward the end, central banks in 2025 still finished not far from the prior year in tonnage terms, according to Marissa Salim, Senior Research Lead, APAC at the World Gold Council.
"Central banks bought 19t of gold in December 2025 via the IMF and other public data sources, bringing full-year 2025 reported net purchases to 328t,” Salim announced on Tuesday. “This is lower than the 345t of net purchases recorded in 2024."
December saw central banks make 30 tonnes of gross gold bullion purchases against 11 tonnes in gross sales, she wrote, resulting in a final monthly average of 27 tons across the full year.
The biggest sovereign movers in December were Uzbekistan, with 10 tonnes of gold bullion purchased, followed by Kazakhstan with 8 tonnes, and Poland with 7 tonnes, the WGC noted. Other significant buyers included the Kyrgyz Republic with two tonnes, with China, Czech Republic, Indonesia, and Mongolia each officially purchasing one tonne during the final month of 2025. The only significant seller in December was Singapore, with 11 tonnes in sales.
"The National Bank of Poland was the largest reported net buyer in 2025, adding 102t to its gold reserves,” Salim said. “Kazakhstan (57t), SOFAZ [the state oil fund of Azerbaijan] (53t), Brazil (43t), China (27t) and Turkey (27t) were the other significant buyers during the year.”
The largest net sellers in 2025 were Singapore, which liquidated 26 tonnes, Ghana’s 12 tonnes, and Russia with 6 tonnes sold.
