(Yicai) June 5 -- Global central banks resumed net gold purchases in April, buying a combined 17 tons, following net sales of nearly 30 tons in March that were partly driven by heavy selling from Türkiye, according to the latest data.

Poland was the largest buyer in April, with a net purchase of 14 tons in a single month, according to World Gold Council data released on June 3. So far this year, Poland has accumulated 45 tons of gold, with gold now accounting for about 30 percent of its total reserves.

China’s central bank added around eight tons of gold in April, marking the 18th consecutive month of gold purchases. This was the second-largest monthly increase since the People’s Bank of China resumed buying in November 2024, second only to the roughly 10 tons purchased in December 2024.

Meanwhile, Russia continued to sell gold, offloading six tons in April, marking its fourth consecutive month of net sales. Türkiye, which had previously sold heavily, stabilized its reserves after settling short-term swap contracts in April.

Gold accounted for 27 percent of global official reserves as of the end of last year, surpassing US Treasuries, whose share tumbled to 22 percent, according to a report released by the European Central Bank on June 2. Gold has now overtaken US government bonds to become the largest asset of global official reserves.

Sustained buying by emerging economies, such as China, Poland, Türkiye and India, along with rising gold prices, have reshaped global reserve allocation, the report said.

Gold prices, however, have been volatile. After hitting a record high of USD5,598.75 per ounce in January, prices plunged by about USD1,000 following the outbreak of the US-Iran war, and have been fluctuating around USD4,500 per ounce for the past month.

Several financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, ANZ and Citibank, have all expressed a bearish outlook on gold and lowered their price forecasts. For example, New York-based Morgan Stanley cut its target price for the second half of this year to USD5,200 per ounce from USD5,700, citing higher real interest rates due to geopolitical tensions and delayed Federal Reserve rate cuts, which restore gold’s traditional inverse relationship with real yields.

Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have reinforced gold’s role as a strategic reserve asset, according to a report released by Saxo Bank on June 3. Sanction risks, concerns over fiscal sustainability, the need for reserve diversification and long-term currency depreciation risks are all encouraging central banks to reduce their reliance on traditional reserve assets. The Danish lender expects global central banks to remain net buyers of gold over the coming year.

Editor: Kim Taylor