Gold buying activity by central banks across various countries recorded a significant surge in May 2026. The latest data shows that the volume of precious metal acquisitions reached its second-highest level of the year to date, reflecting a global foreign exchange reserve strengthening strategy.
Marissa Salim, Senior Research Lead APAC at the World Gold Council (WGC), confirmed that central banks around the world have re-entered aggressive mode to add to their gold holdings. This phenomenon was driven by intense buying action from several countries, with Poland and China being the largest contributors to the purchasing trend.
This condition also had a positive impact on global financial market sentiment. By the close of trading on Friday (3/7/2026), spot gold prices strengthened by 1.27% to US$4,174.10 per troy ounce. This price increase appears to respond to the high institutional demand carried out by monetary authorities across these countries.
