Central Banks Quietly Stockpile Gold Amid Market Volatility

Central banks have been quietly accumulating gold at an unprecedented rate, building a structural floor beneath the market. In the second quarter, they added a net 289 tonnes of gold, a 62 percent jump year-on-year and the strongest Q2 figure ever recorded.

This buying spree shows no signs of abating, with China expanding its reserves by roughly 20 tonnes in July to bring its total holdings to 76.08 million ounces. Over the past four years, official-sector demand has averaged about 1,000 tonnes annually, double the pace of the preceding decade.

The World Gold Council pegged July's net ETF inflows at $3 billion, or 23 tonnes, a modest figure relative to the scale of the rally. This divergence suggests the recent advance has been driven more by institutional conviction than broad-based retail participation.