Turkey and Russia's Large-Scale Selling Fails to Halt Gold Buying Spree: Global Central Banks Net Purchased 27 Tons in February

As of 11:47 a.m. on April 9, despite the massive reduction of gold holdings by the central banks of Turkey and Russia in February, the global central bank gold buying rhythm remained unbroken, with a net purchase of 27 tons in the month. Data from the World Gold Council shows that this scale has rebounded significantly from January and is basically the same as the average monthly gold purchase level in 2025. Among them, Poland led with a monthly purchase of 20 tons, while China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other countries continued their gold-adding momentum; Turkey's central bank governor clearly stated that the approximately 50 tons of gold used in March was a swap operation and would be returned to reserves upon maturity. At the same time, the gold purchase willingness of African central banks is continuously heating up.

The World Gold Council released its latest central bank gold statistics report on April 2. Data shows that global central banks net purchased 27 tons of gold in February 2026, a significant rebound from the sluggish situation in January, and basically consistent with the average monthly gold purchase level of 26 tons throughout 2025. From the perspective of the full-year trend, global central banks have accumulated a net purchase of 31 tons in the first two months of 2026, a significant drop compared with 50 tons in the same period of 2025.

In the global central bank gold market in the month, a pattern of "coexistence of selling pressure and buying orders" emerged. Turkey and Russia were the two largest sellers, reducing their gold holdings by 8 tons and 6 tons respectively. However, the strong buying power successfully offset this part of the selling pressure, enabling global central banks to maintain an overall net buying trend. Among them, the National Bank of Poland took the lead with a monthly purchase of 20 tons, becoming a key force driving the monthly net gold purchase to turn from negative to positive.

In the gold-adding camp, Poland's performance was particularly prominent. In February, the National Bank of Poland purchased 20 tons of gold, the largest single-month purchase since February 2025 (29 tons purchased that month). So far, Poland's total gold reserves have risen to 570 tons, accounting for 31% of its total reserves. It is reported that Adam Glapiński, governor of the National Bank of Poland, has clearly announced earlier that he will set the gold reserve target at 700 tons. It is worth noting that Glapiński has recently put forward a special plan to raise about 13 billion US dollars by selling part of the gold reserves to supplement national defense expenditures, and stated that the purpose is to "buy back gold after generating returns", but the specific details of the plan have not yet been clarified.

Many countries have continued the long-term gold purchase trend. Among them, the Czech National Bank has achieved net gold purchases for 36 consecutive months, with current gold reserves rising to 75 tons, accounting for 7% of its total reserves; the People's Bank of China has increased its gold holdings for the 16th consecutive month, maintaining a steady gold purchase rhythm; Uzbekistan has made net purchases for the fifth consecutive month, and after increasing by 8 tons in the month, its total gold reserves have risen to 407 tons, accounting for as high as 88% of its total reserves.

Kazakhstan also continued its gold-adding trend, purchasing 8 tons of gold in February, pushing its gold reserves to 348 tons, the highest level since January 2023. Bank Negara Malaysia continued its gold-adding momentum from January, buying another 2 tons in the month, with a cumulative increase of 5 tons since the beginning of 2026.

As the largest seller in the month, the changes in Turkey's gold reserves have attracted much attention. Turkey's gold reserves decreased by 8 tons in February. The World Gold Council analyzed that this decrease was mainly due to the decline in the holdings of the Ministry of Finance, not the change in the reserves of the Central Bank of Turkey itself. In March, the scale of gold used by the Central Bank of Turkey further expanded. According to the estimate of the World Gold Council, it used about 50 tons of gold reserves in the month for liquidity management and foreign exchange-related operations.

Regarding the large-scale use of gold reserves in March, Fatih Karahan, governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, made a clear explanation: "A considerable part of these transactions are in the nature of gold-foreign exchange swap forward transactions. In other words, after maturity, the relevant gold will be returned to our reserves." This statement also eased market concerns about the stability of its gold reserves.

It is worth noting that African central banks are becoming an emerging force in the global central bank gold purchase camp, gradually incorporating gold into the strategic tool of reserve diversification. Among them, the Bank of Uganda launched a domestic gold purchase plan two years ago and officially implemented it in March 2026. Its goal is to purchase at least 100 kilograms of gold from domestic artisanal and large and medium-sized miners between March and June to enhance its reserve strength and hedge against various risks in the international financial market.

The Central Bank of Kenya also released its gold purchase intention. Governor Kamau Thugge clearly expressed relevant ideas at a press conference in early February. The World Gold Council stated that this series of actions by African central banks indicates that gold is being more widely regarded as an important tool for reserve strategic diversification, and the gold purchase trend of African central banks is worthy of continuous attention.

Sources: World Gold Council, Central Bank Announcements of Various Countries

Risk Warning and Disclaimer

Markets are volatile and investments involve risks. This article does not constitute personalized investment advice, nor does it consider the specific investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of individual users. Users should evaluate whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investment decisions are made at one's own risk.