The world's central banks increased official gold reserves by a total of 39 tons in net terms in August 2026, with the People's Bank of China becoming the largest buyer, according to an Experts Club analysis based on World Gold Council (WGC) data published on October 6.
According to the WGC, the main buyers of gold in August were:
China — 20.2 tons
Poland - 7.8 tons
Uzbekistan - 7.8 tons
Kazakhstan - 7.4 tons
Turkey - 2.9 tons
Czech Republic - 1.7 tons
Bolivia - about 1 ton
Ghana - about 1 ton
China continued to buy gold 22nd month in a row. In August, the People's Bank of China increased gold reserves by approximately 20.2 tons — this was the largest monthly addition since October 2023.
According to the results of January-August, China purchased about 80 tons of gold. The country's official gold reserves reached approximately 2,387 tons, which is about 9% of China's total international reserves.
Despite China's lead directly in August, Poland remains the largest buyer of gold since the beginning of 2026. The National Bank of Poland purchased about 7.8 tons in August and already 98 tons since the beginning of the year. Poland's gold reserves rose to around 648 tonnes, close to its stated target of 700 tonnes.
Uzbekistan increased its reserves by around 7.8 tonnes. Since the beginning of the year, the country has acquired about 50 tons of gold, and the total volume of gold reserves has reached approximately 439 tons. Gold accounts for about 90% of Uzbekistan's reserves.
Kazakhstan bought about 7.4 tons of gold in August, increasing the volume of purchases since the beginning of the year to about 36 tons. The country's gold reserves reached about 377 tonnes, or 79% of international reserves.
Turkey returned to net buying after three months of selling, buying about 2.9 tonnes. At the same time, the country has remained a large net seller since the beginning of 2026 — the total reduction in reserves is about 82 tons, with the bulk of sales falling in the first quarter.
The Czech National Bank purchased about 1.7 tons, thus extending the series of net purchases of gold to 42 consecutive months. Since the beginning of the year, the Czech Republic has added about 14 tons, increasing its reserves to 86 tons.
In general, for January-August 2026, global central banks reported net purchases of approximately 170 tons of gold.
The World Gold Council notes that the composition of the largest buyers remains relatively stable. This indicates that central banks are buying gold primarily as part of long-term reserve management policies, while monthly fluctuations are related to program implementation schedules, market conditions and individual countries' liquidity needs.
For comparison: in July, world central banks purchased 23 tons of gold in net terms. Thus, net purchases increased by approximately 70% month-over-month in August.
Official primary source: World Gold Council, Central Bank Gold Statistics, published on October 6, 2026.
