Central banks worldwide purchased gold in the third quarter at the quickest rate since late 2024, even as rising oil prices and interest rates weighed on bullion values.
According to a report released Tuesday by the World Gold Council, central banks made net purchases of 321 tonnes of gold during the three months ending in September. Following relatively sluggish buying in early 2026, this brought estimated year-to-date gold purchases to 675 tonnes, slightly above the same period last year.
These figures underscore that central banks remain a crucial source of support for gold prices. Central bank buying is particularly significant when demand from other market segments remains relatively subdued; central banks had also been a major force driving gold's multi-year rally and its record high in January this year.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, gold prices have fallen by roughly a quarter, as rising energy costs heightened market expectations for tighter monetary policy, creating headwinds for the non-yielding metal.
John Reade, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, said that weaker gold prices in the third quarter may have prompted some central banks to increase their buying activity. For central banks with a long-term bearish view on the dollar, a stronger dollar could also enhance the appeal of shifting some foreign exchange reserves into gold.
Reade said that if you believe the dollar will weaken over the long term and your short-term US Treasury holdings are maturing, you might take advantage of the dollar being at elevated levels to use some of your dollar holdings to buy gold.
Nearly two-thirds of estimated central bank gold purchases were not disclosed by monetary authorities themselves. Consulting firm Metals Focus Ltd., on behalf of the World Gold Council, combines public information, trade statistics, and field surveys to estimate central bank gold purchases.
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