Central banks snap up cheap gold in March with Poland, Uzbekistan and China buying big – World Gold Council

In a series of social media posts, Gopaul documented the latest sovereign gold acquisitions, which show central banks jumping on discounts for the precious metal.

“Data released by the Czech National Bank shows its gold reserves increased by another 2 tonnes in March,” he wrote. “Its Q1 net purchases total 5 tonnes, lifting total gold holdings to 77 tonnes.”

Meanwhile, the Bank of Guatemala added two tonnes to its gold reserves last month, “19% higher m/m and its first addition since September (6t),” he added. “Its gold reserves now total 16 tonnes.”

IMF data also showed the 2024 and 2025 leader in sovereign purchases buying big once again. “[T]he National Bank of Poland increased its gold reserves by 11 tonnes in March,” Gopaul noted. “This lifts its YTD net purchases to 31 tonnes, and total gold holdings to 582 tonnes.”

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan also increased its gold reserves by nine tonnes in March – its sixth straight month of buying. “Net purchases over Q1 totalled 25 tonnes, lifting overall gold holdings to 416 tonnes,” he said.

Earlier this week, data from the People's Bank of China shows its reserves rose by five tonnes in March – its largest monthly increase since February 2025 – extending its purchase streak to 17 consecutive months. China’s official gold holdings now stand at 2,313 tonnes.

Gopaul also noted additional purchases from the prior month. “National Bank of Kazakhstan data shows its gold reserves rose by almost 8 tonnes in February,” he said. “This lifts its gold reserves to 348 tonnes - the highest level since January 2023. This would also raise our global central bank net purchases figure for February to 27 tonnes.”

The sovereign segment of the gold market has become much more volatile since the outbreak of the war with Iran, with analysts speculating that central banks have had to monetize their gold reserves to protect their economies.

So far, Turkey’s central bank has been the most transparent regarding its official reserves. Data from the central bank showed that its gold holdings declined by another 69.1 tonnes in March, bringing last month’s total decline to more than 118 tonnes.

According to reports, this is the biggest drawdown in Turkey’s gold reserves since 2013.

The central bank has said that it has sold some of its gold but has monetized most of it through swap agreements. It has used this liquidity to buy lira and other foreign currencies to support its economy.