Central banks boost gold buying in Q3

The accumulation matters because central banks are among the market’s most price-insensitive buyers. Their purchases remove supply from the market at a time when investors are already piling into gold exchange-traded funds, which saw holdings rise by 211 tons in the quarter to a record level.

The buying spree also reflects a shifting macro backdrop. Higher energy prices and expectations for tighter monetary policy have pressured gold at times, but the metal is still drawing demand as a hedge against currency and geopolitical risk. The dollar’s strength has also encouraged some reserve managers to move part of their holdings into bullion, according to the World Gold Council’s chief market strategist John Reade.

China and Poland were the biggest disclosed buyers in the quarter, adding 63 tons and 41 tons, respectively. Russia sold 19 tons, making it the largest disclosed seller.

The scale of undisclosed buying remains significant: about two-thirds of estimated central bank purchases were not publicly reported, with the World Gold Council and Metals Focus inferring volumes from trade data and other sources. That opacity leaves the market guessing about how much official-sector demand is still in the pipeline.

The backdrop for miners and bullion funds is strong even as traditional consumer demand weakens. Jewelry demand fell 17% to 313 tons, the lowest third-quarter reading in the World Gold Council’s records, while demand for bars and coins dropped 19% to 268 tons. Mine output rose 3% to a record 1,071 tons for the quarter, but recycling fell 8% to 314 tons.

For investors, the message is that gold’s bull case is no longer just about retail demand or inflation hedging. Official buying, ETF inflows and persistent geopolitical uncertainty are now doing the heavy lifting, with central banks increasingly setting the floor for the market even as consumer demand softens.