(Kitco News) – After March saw central banks flip to net sellers of gold, the sovereign sector switched back to bullion purchases in April, according to the latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC).
“Central banks resumed net gold purchases in April, having bought 17t,” wrote Marissa Salim, the WGC Senior Research Lead, APAC. “This was a rebound from the sizeable net sales reported in March.”
“Poland remained the top buyer in the month (14t), while China intensified its pace of purchases: its 8t net purchase is the highest since December 2024 and extends its current buying run to 18 consecutive months,” Salim noted. “The Czech Republic shows similar consistency in purchases, having bought 3t in April, its 38th consecutive monthly purchase. Meanwhile, Russia continues its sales streak this month (6t), with y-t-d sales of 22t.”
Salim said Eastern European and Asian central banks continue to dominate the buying side with consistent monthly purchases. “Over the past 36 months, both regions have purchased 12t and 11t per month on average collectively. Global central banks activity shows average net purchases of 29t over the same period.”
The National Bank of Poland’s 14 tonnes in purchases “brings Poland’s y-t-d gold purchases to 45t with its gold reserves at595t or about 30% of its total reserves,” she noted, while China’s 8 tonnes mean “official gold reserves now stand at 9% of total reserves or around 2,322t,” while the Czech National Bank’s “modest but consistent 2t net purchases in April brings its gold reserves to 79t or 6% of its total reserves.”
On the selling side, in addition to Russia, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan sold one tonne of bullion in April, “though on a y-t-d basis, it remains a net purchaser (24t) and is second only to Poland,” Salim wrote. “Uzbekistan’s reserves make up 88% of its total reserves or around 414t.”
“March’s top seller, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey reported virtually flat gold reserves in April, with weekly data showing that short-term gold/USD swaps matured in April, leaving only longer-term (1-3 month) gold/USD swaps outstanding,” she added.
Looking ahead, Salim said that the World Gold Council’s ninth annual Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2026 will be released this month, “and will provide the latest insights into the central banking community’s strategic views on gold as a reserve asset.”
“In our survey in 2025, central banks held favourable expectations on gold with 95% of respondents indicating that global central bank gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months, this is compared to 81% of respondents indicating the same in our 2024 survey,” she noted. “43% of respondents believe that their own gold reserves will also increase over the same period in 2025, compared to 29% of respondents in our survey in 2024.”
