Global central bank gold buying interest hits its highest level since 2018, and the pullback in gold prices is seen as a buying opportunity.

According to a recent survey released by the World Gold Council on June 16th, global central banks' willingness to allocate gold continues to rise. Amidst a correction in high gold prices, "buying on dips" is becoming an important reserve management strategy for some countries. The survey, conducted jointly by the council and YouGov with 74 central banks, shows that 45% of respondents plan to increase their gold reserves in the next 12 months, the highest level since the survey began in 2018; meanwhile, only one central bank indicated it would reduce its gold holdings. This structural result indicates that despite the recent pullback in gold prices from their highs, long-term allocation demand from global official sectors has not weakened. The report points out that gold prices have more than doubled in the past three years due to continuous net purchases by central banks, but the market environment has changed since 2026. The situation in the Middle East has driven energy price volatility and reinforced market expectations of "prolonged high interest rates," suppressing the short-term attractiveness of gold as a non-yielding asset. Coupled with the temporary withdrawal of speculative funds, gold prices have fallen to their lowest level since November of last year. Structurally, emerging markets and developing economies remain the main buyers of gold in the future. Surveys show that about 53% of these central banks plan to continue increasing their gold holdings, compared to only 18% of central banks in developed economies, reflecting a clear divergence in reserve diversification and risk hedging among different economies. Shaokai Fan stated that the price correction is reactivating the buying power of some central banks, "The price drop has provided some central banks with an entry opportunity." He pointed out that in 2025, many central banks chose to wait and see due to high gold prices, but the current correction is changing this decision-making pace. Regarding the methods of purchasing gold, about half of the central banks planning to increase their gold holdings prefer to use their own currency to directly purchase gold from their domestic mining systems, reducing the consumption of foreign exchange reserves; another 38% choose to rebalance their allocation by selling other reserve assets. This means that gold is gradually evolving from a "substitute for foreign exchange reserves" to a "tool for asset reallocation within the system."