--- title: "Despite large sales by Turkey and Russia, global central banks were net buyers of 27 tons of gold in February" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/282130140.md" description: "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" datetime: "2026-04-09T03:55:42.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/282130140.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282130140.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/282130140.md) --- # Despite large sales by Turkey and Russia, global central banks were net buyers of 27 tons of gold in February 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. ## **Poland Leads, Multiple Countries Continue to Increase Holdings** 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 "buy back after generating profits," 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. ## **Turkey: Reduced Holdings in February, Larger Utilization in March** 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: "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." ## **African Central Banks: Emerging Forces Enter the Market** 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. ### Related Stocks - [SGDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SGDM.US.md) - [GDXY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDXY.US.md) - [518850.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/518850.CN.md) - [GLDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLDM.US.md) - [NEM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NEM.US.md) - [IAU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IAU.US.md) - [SGOL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SGOL.US.md) - [GDXU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDXU.US.md) - [GLD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLD.US.md) - [GOLD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOLD.US.md) - [RING.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RING.US.md) - [NUGT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NUGT.US.md) - [159562.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159562.CN.md) - [09824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09824.HK.md) - [AEM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AEM.US.md) - [02824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02824.HK.md) - [82824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/82824.HK.md) - [GOAU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOAU.US.md) - [UGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UGL.US.md) - [600489.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600489.CN.md) - [600547.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600547.CN.md) - [JNUG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JNUG.US.md) - [SGDJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SGDJ.US.md) - [JDST.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/JDST.US.md) - [GDXW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDXW.US.md) - [GOEX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOEX.US.md) - [GDXJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDXJ.US.md) - [DUST.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DUST.US.md) - [KGC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KGC.US.md) - [601899.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601899.CN.md) - [GDX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Is the Era of Global Central Bank Gold Buying Really Coming to an End?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281625039.md) - [African Gold Sets Court Date for Montage Acquisition Schemes](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282123044.md) - [Buy Rating on NovaGold Driven by Donlin Gold’s Long-Term Cash Flow Potential and Gold Price Upside](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282101577.md) - [05:10 ETBest Gold Investment for Beginners (2026): Priority Gold Named Leading Platform for Gold IRAs and First-Time Buyers by Better Business Advice](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281622297.md) - [Gold Strike Raises $17.2 Million to Fund Acquisition of Gold Projects](https://longbridge.com/en/news/282066672.md)