In May 2026, the world's central banks, according to preliminary estimates from the World Gold Council (WGC), increased their gold reserves by 41.2 tons.
“In May, central banks returned to an active gold purchasing mode and operated quite actively. Despite recent events, they continue to view gold's role in international reserves positively,” said WGC analyst Marisa Salim.
According to a recent survey conducted by WGC, 89% of central banks expect that the share of gold in currency reserves worldwide will increase over the next year, while a record 45% also forecast an increase in the volume of gold in their own reserves.
The largest buyers of gold in May were:
Poland — 18.2 tons,
China — 10 tons,
Uzbekistan — 8.7 tons,
Kazakhstan — 6.9 tons,
Singapore — 3.6 tons,
Czech Republic — 1.7 tons,
Jordan — 1.1 tons.
The main sellers of gold in May were Russia, which, according to WGC estimates, reduced its reserves by 6.2 tons, and Turkey, which sold 2.7 tons of gold.
