Central banks added a net 20 t to global gold reserves in May, an uptick from the previous month; however, the overall pace has moderated slightly, industry organisation the World Gold Council (WGC) Asia Pacific senior research lead Marissa Salim writes in the organisation’s Gold Hub publication.

This 20 t was close to but still below the 12-month average of 27 t.

Fresh tensions in the Middle East may have reinforced the strategic appeal of gold for central banks looking to safeguard reserves against geopolitical shocks, Salim postulates.

In the WGC’s recently released Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2025, 43% of central bankers surveyed stated their own central bank would increase their gold reserves and 95% believed that official gold reserves would continue to increase in the next 12 months, citing gold’s attributes as a diversifier and hedge during crisis and inflation as key factors influencing their decision to hold gold.

This sentiment was echoed in the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Global Public Investor 2025 where 32% of central banks expect to increase gold holdings in the next 12 to 24 months, Salim points out.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) reported adding 7 t of gold to its reserves in May, lifting these to 299 t.

Since the start of the year, NBK gold reserves have increased by 15 t.

The Central Bank of Turkey reported 6 t of gold purchases in May, lifting its year-to-date gold accumulation to 15 t.

The National Bank of Poland also added 6 t of gold to its reserves in May; remaining the largest net buyer of gold this year, adding 67 t.

The People’s Bank of China and Czech National Bank both added 2 t of gold, respectively, in May.  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore led sales in May, with 5 t, followed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Deutsche Bundesbank, each sold 1 t of gold in that month.

On a year-to-date basis, Uzbekistan remains the largest net seller with 27 t, followed by Singapore with 10 t.

Updated data for April also showed that the Qatar Central Bank purchased 2 t of gold, bringing global net purchases that month to 16 t.