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Gold holds near record highs as central-bank buying cools
World Gold Council data show net official-sector purchases fell 54% in July to 23 tonnes, while investment-backed demand helped keep bullion supported.
Central-bank gold buying cooled in July, falling more than half, even as bullion remained near record highs, pointing to a larger role for investor demand in supporting the market, according to World Gold Council data cited by Mining.com.
Net official-sector purchases dropped 54% to 23 tonnes from 51 tonnes in June. China and Poland led buyers with 20 tonnes and eight tonnes, respectively, while Russia sold six tonnes, and Turkey, Jordan, and Uzbekistan each sold about one tonne.
The World Gold Council said investment is expected to be the principal source of gold-demand growth through the rest of 2026, with central banks still on course for another strong year of net purchases even if annual demand ends below 2025. Through July, central banks reported purchases of about 130 tonnes, versus about 160 tonnes in the same period last year.
Separately, physically backed gold exchange-traded funds drew $3 billion of net inflows in July, reversing two straight months of outflows. Holdings rose by 23 tonnes to 4,068 tonnes, nearly matching net central-bank purchases for the month, while global gold ETF year-to-date inflows reached $11 billion.
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