Ms. Marissa Salim - Head of the World Gold Council (WGC) Asia - Pacific Senior Research Group said that the National Bank of Kazakhstan is the largest buyer in May 2025.
Ground central banks net bought 20 tonnes of gold in May, based on published figures, this figure is almost the same but still lower than the 12-month average of 27 tonnes.
New tensions in the Middle East may have reinforced the strategic appeal of gold to central banks seeking to protect reserves against geopolitical shocks, Salim said.
Governments' continued interest in gold is also highlighted in the 2025 WGC Central Bank Gold Reserve Survey.
Gold remains a focus for central banks around the world, with 95% of survey participants believing that official gold reserves will continue to increase, compared to 81% last year. A record of 43% of central banks surveyed said they expect to increase their own gold reserves in the next 12 months," she said.
At least nine central banks added at least one ton of gold to reserves in May. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) reported that it added 7 tonnes of gold in May, bringing its total reserves to 299 tonnes. Since the beginning of the year, NBK's gold reserves have increased by 15 tons" - Ms. Salim shared.
The Turkish Central Bank reported buying 6 tonnes of gold this month, bringing its total year-on-year purchases to 15 tonnes. The National Bank of Poland also added 6 tonnes of gold in 5.10; NBP remains the largest net gold buyer in 2025 with a total of 67 tonnes, she added.
The People's Bank of China and the National Bank of the Czech Republic each added 2 tons of gold to their reserves. Meanwhile, the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, the National Bank of Cambodia, the Central Bank of the Philippines and the Bank of Myanmar each bought an additional 1 ton of gold.
Meanwhile, updated data from April 2025 showed that the Central Bank of Qatar had purchased 2 tons of gold, bringing the total global net purchases in April to 16 tons.
The Singapore Monetary Authority leads the list of sales in May with 5 tons, followed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the German Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), each selling 1 ton of gold. Since the beginning of the year, Uzbekistan has been the largest net seller (27 tons), followed by Singapore (10 tons)" - Ms. Salim said.
