Selling pressure failed to halt the pace of global central bank gold purchases.
The latest Central Bank Gold Holdings report released by the World Gold Council on April 2nd shows that global central banks had net gold purchases of 27 tons in February 2026, a significant rebound from the low in January and basically in line with the monthly average of 26 tons for the entire year of 2025. Net purchases for the first two months of this year totaled 31 tons, but were lower than the 50 tons in the same period last year.
Turkey and Russia, the largest sellers during the month, reduced their holdings by 8 tons and 6 tons respectively, but buying power was sufficient to offset the selling pressure. Poland led with a monthly purchase of 20 tons, maintaining the overall net buying pattern for global central banks.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/0c4ed903-db5c-41fa-a501-515b040c9ab9.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/0c4ed903-db5c-41fa-a501-515b040c9ab9.png"/>
<h2>Poland Leads, Multiple Countries Continue to Increase Holdings</h2>
The National Bank of Poland purchased 20 tons in February, its largest monthly purchase since February 2025 (29 tons). Its total gold reserves increased to 570 tons, accounting for 31% of its total reserves.
Governor of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapiński, had previously announced a target of 700 tons for gold reserves. It is noteworthy that Glapiński recently proposed a plan to raise approximately $13 billion by selling gold reserves for defense spending, stating an intention to &#34;buy back after generating profits,&#34; but the details of this plan are currently unclear.
In terms of continuous purchases, the Czech National Bank has made net purchases for 36 consecutive months, with gold reserves rising to 75 tons, accounting for 7% of its total reserves. The People's Bank of China has increased its holdings for the 16th consecutive month; Uzbekistan made net purchases for the fifth consecutive month, increasing its reserves to 407 tons, or 88% of its total reserves, after adding 8 tons.
Kazakhstan increased its holdings by 8 tons, bringing its gold reserves to their highest level since January 2023 at 348 tons. Bank Negara Malaysia continued its buying momentum from January, purchasing another 2 tons, bringing its total purchases at the start of the year to 5 tons.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/3b806599-e8c9-40b6-abe5-b8f6555ee3c0.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/3b806599-e8c9-40b6-abe5-b8f6555ee3c0.png"/>
<h2>Turkey: Reduced Holdings in February, Larger Utilization in March</h2>
Turkey's gold reserves decreased by 8 tons in February. The World Gold Council pointed out that, based on its calculations, this reduction primarily reflects a decrease in the Ministry of Finance's holdings, rather than changes in the central bank's own reserves.
Entering March, the situation became more pronounced. The World Gold Council estimates that the Central Bank of Turkey utilized approximately 50 tons of gold reserves in March for liquidity management and foreign exchange operations. In response, Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, Fatih Karahan, stated: &#34;A considerable portion of these transactions are in the nature of gold-foreign exchange swap forward transactions. In other words, upon maturity, the relevant gold will be returned to our reserves.&#34;
<h2>African Central Banks: Emerging Forces Enter the Market</h2>
The World Gold Council report also indicates that African central banks are gradually incorporating gold into their strategic diversification tools.
The Bank of Uganda launched a domestic gold acquisition program two years ago and officially began its implementation in March 2026. The goal is to purchase at least 100 kilograms of gold from domestic artisanal and small to medium-sized miners between March and June to strengthen reserves and hedge against international financial market risks.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Kamau Thugge, also expressed similar intentions at a press conference in early February. The World Gold Council believes this trend indicates that African central banks are more broadly using gold as a strategic diversification tool.

SGDM

GDXY

518850

World Gold Council data shows that global central banks had net gold purchases of 27 tons in February, an increase from January and on par with the monthly average in 2025. Poland led with 20 tons, while China, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan continued to increase their holdings. Turkey and Russia were the largest sellers during the month, but the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey stated that the utilization of approximately 50 tons in March was due to swap operations, and the gold would be returned to reserves upon maturity. Central banks in Africa are showing increased interest in purchasing gold

- In February 2026, global central banks net purchased 27 tons of gold, recovering from January's lows, aligning with the 2025 average of 26 tons monthly, despite total purchases being lower than last year's 50 tons.  
- Poland led the purchases with 20 tons, increasing its reserves to 570 tons and setting a target of 700 tons, while countries like the Czech Republic and China continued their buying streaks.  
- Turkey reduced its reserves by 8 tons in February but used about 50 tons in March for liquidity management, and African central banks are increasingly incorporating gold into their strategic diversification efforts.

Wallstreetcn

Sprott GLD Miners Etf

YieldMax Gold Miners Opt Inc Strgy ETF

ChinaAMC Gold ETF

SPDR Gold Minishares

Newmont

iShares Gold Trust

Abrdn Gold ETF Trust

Microsectors Gold Miners 3x Leveraged ETN

SPDR Gold Shares

Gold.com

iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners

Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 2X

ChinaAMC CSI SH-SZ-HK Gold Industry Equity ETF

EFUND GOLD MI-U

Agnico Eagle Mines

EFUND GOLD MI ETF

EFUND GOLD MI-R

Us Gbl GLD & Met

Pro Ultr GLD

ZHONGJIN GOLD

SD-GOLD

Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bull 2X

Sprott JR Gold Miners ETF

Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bear 2X

Roundhill Gold Miners Weeklypay ETF

GLOBAL X Gold Explorers

VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF

Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 2X

Kinross Gold

Zijin Mining

VanEck Gold Miners ETF

Despite large sales by Turkey and Russia, global central banks were net buyers of 27 tons of gold in February