The World Gold Council has released data on central banks’ gold sales and purchases in March. Central banks sold a net 30 tonnes of gold in March. The largest net seller this month was Turkey (60t), utilising part of its gold reserves for FX and liquidity purposes. Russia also sold gold this month (6t). In February, central banks as a group bought a net 19 tonnes of gold.
The National Bank of Poland (11t) was the largest buyer in March, followed by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (9t) and the National Bank of Kazakhstan (6t).
The People’s Bank of China extended its monthly buying to 17 consecutive months and ramped up its pace of buying in March (5t). Guatemala and Czech Republic were also net buyers this month at 2t each.
Quarterly data from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) also showed net sales of 22t in Q1 2026. Meanwhile, net buying continues among the usual names with Poland (11t), Uzbekistan (9t), Kazakhstan (6t) and China (5t) among the top buyers for the month.
Year-to-date changes by country
As of January-March Q1 2026, Poland remains the top buyer (31t), followed by Uzbekistan (25t), Kazakhstan (13t) and China (7t). Other central banks, such as Czech Republic, Malaysia, Guatemala, Kyrgyz Republic, Cambodia, Indonesia and Serbia also reported net buying a tonne or more.
The largest seller of gold in Q1 was Turkey, where official sector holdings fell 79t based on available reported data. The bulk of sales came in March with the bank utilising an additional 80t via gold swaps. Here’s why Turkey is selling gold reserves.
RBI’s Gold Holdings
In 2025, the RBI lowered its gold purchases to 4.02 tonnes, a dramatic decrease from 72.6 tonnes in 2024. The RBI’s total gold holdings hit a record of 880.3 tonnes at the end of 2025. Following a four-month break, the RBI purchased 0.13 tons of gold in January but none in February. In the last year, only 1.3 tons of gold were purchased.
Gold Price
Gold prices started falling the day after the Iran war began. Gold fell to around $4,482, a 20% drop from its recent high of $5,602 in late January. Since then, gold has recovered some ground, trading at $4,577, but is still 12% lower than where it was when the war began.
Gold has fallen 5% in the last 1-month, but is up by 5.75% YTD and 41% in the last year.
Gold now accounts for 20% of foreign exchange reserve assets held by central banks — surpassing even the euro, which stands at 16%, after the US dollar, which retains 46%. In the case of the RBI, gold occupies 17.2% of India’s foreign exchange reserves.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general awareness only and should not be construed as investment, financial, or trading advice. Central bank gold purchase and sale data cited is sourced from World Gold Council reports and may be subject to revision as more data becomes available. Gold prices are highly volatile and subject to geopolitical, macroeconomic, and currency-related factors. Past performance and historical trends are not indicative of future returns. Readers are urged to conduct independent due diligence and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any gold-related investment decisions.