According to Krishan Gopaul - Senior EMEA Analyst at the World Gold Council (WGC), the National Bank of Kazakhstan leads the gold buy list. In addition, Bulgaria and El Salvador are also on the list of countries buying gold in 2025.
Central banks net bought a total of 15 tonnes of gold in August, based on data released by the IMF and central banks, Gopaul wrote in the latest WGC update report.
This purchase level is equivalent to the average monthly level in the period from March to June, and shows the return of the buying trend after global reserves remained unchanged in July (we have adjusted the initial estimate down from +10 tons to 0 after the Bank of Indonesia reported 11 tons of sales) - he said.
This expert emphasized that the delay in July does not mean that central banks have reduced their interest in gold. On the contrary, recent developments show that central banks are still very interested in increasing their holdings of gold.
Gopaul said seven central banks recorded a gain of 1 ton or more in gold reserves in August, while only two banks reported a decline.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has added 8 tonnes, marking the 6th consecutive month of purchase. The country's total gold reserves are currently at 316 tons, up 32 tons compared to the end of 2024," he said.
The National Bank of Bulgaria increased its gold reserves by 2 tons. This is the largest monthly increase since the country bought 8 tons in June 1997, bringing its total gold reserves to 43 tons.
It is expected that by January 2026, Bulgaria will become the 21st member of the eurozone and will likely transfer part of its gold to the European Central Bank (ECB) as part of its joining process, he said.
The Turkish Central Bank also increased its gold reserves by 2 tons. Since the beginning of the year, official reserves have increased by 21 tons, reaching 639 tons, Gopaul informed.
The People's Bank of China also reported buying 2 tons of gold, marking the 10th consecutive month of increasing gold reserves. The total amount of gold held has exceeded the 2,300-ton mark, although it still accounts for only about 7% of the countrys total foreign exchange reserves.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan also added 2 tonnes in the month. Tous gold reserves are currently at 366 tons, down 17 tons compared to the end of 2024. The Czech National Bank (CNB) continued its steady buying streak by buying an additional 2 tons of gold in the month, bringing its total reserves to 65 tons.
The CNB has been buying gold for 30 consecutive months and aims to have 100 tons of gold reserves by the end of 2028, he said.
The Bank of Vietnam also added 2 tonnes of gold, bringing its total yearly purchases to 5 tonnes and its total gold reserves to 36 tonnes.
Based on available data, the Russian Central Bank (3 tons) and the Bank of Indonesia (2 tons) are the two banks that only sell gold. The decline in Russia's gold reserves may be related to the coining casting program, said Gopaul.
Notably, Poland - the country that bought the most gold last year also confirmed that it has no intention of slowing down gold purchases.
In September, the National Bank of Poland (NBP) confirmed that it would increase the share of gold in total foreign exchange reserves from 20% to 30%. NBP achieved its previous target this year thanks to strong buying and rising gold prices. Although it has not yet increased its gold holdings, the new target shows that NBP will continue to buy gold, but the bank also noted that the scale and speed of buying will depend on market conditions, said Mr. Gopaul.
Even after a recent buyback, NBP is still the largest gold buyer this year with 67 tons added to its reserves, bringing its total holdings to 515 tons as of the end of August.
The El Salvador Central Reserve also reported an additional 13,999 ounces of gold (under 0.5 tons) in September. In the buyback announcement, the bank emphasized that this is a long-term positioning move, based on careful balance in the asset structure of foreign exchange reserves.
Currently, this bank holds nearly 2 tons of gold in national reserves.
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