Central Banks Buy Record 44 Tonnes of Gold in July, Goldman Sachs Says

Goldman Sachs Research analysts Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven reported that central bank gold buying remained robust in July, with their nowcast model estimating a total of 44 tonnes purchased during the month. This is significantly higher than the pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes per month.

The largest contributor to this increase was China, which bought an estimated 35 tonnes of gold in July, nearly double the amount reported in official public disclosures. The analysts noted that their nowcast model captures buying that does not appear in official reserve data by tracking gold volumes moving through London's over-the-counter market into domestic vaults or third-party custodian firms.

The Bank of England saw its gold holdings on behalf of foreign central banks increase by 63 tonnes in July, outpacing the decline in the Federal Reserve's New York vaults during the same month. This led the analysts to conclude that additional recent central bank purchases are not captured in their July nowcast estimate.