According to data released on February 7, the amount of gold held by the People's Bank of China increased by 40,000 ounces last month. The Central Bank of China began its latest gold purchases from November 2024.
The speculative wave pushed gold and silver prices to consecutive peaks in January 2026, before a historic price drop occurred at the end of the month.
Since then, world gold prices have partially recovered, although the market is still unstable as investors re-evaluate their positions after the price drop.
According to the World Gold Council, gold purchases by central banks globally, an important structural pillar of the market, increased in the last quarter of 2025, bringing the total purchase volume for the whole year to more than 860 tons.
Although the purchase volume of gold by global central banks in the above statistics is lower than 1,000 tons purchased each year in the past 3 years, demand is likely to remain high, strengthening the role of gold in official reserves.
