For three consecutive years, central banks across emerging markets have been buying gold like it’s going out of style. Except the opposite is happening: gold is very much in style, and the dollar is the thing they’re quietly moving away from.
From 2022 through 2024, net official-sector gold purchases exceeded 1,000 tonnes every single year, roughly double the 400-500 tonne annual average from the previous decade. That’s not a blip. That’s a structural shift in how sovereign nations think about reserves.
The numbers tell the story
Central banks purchased 1,082 tonnes of gold in 2022, 1,037 tonnes in 2023, and 1,045 tonnes in 2024. The consistency is the point. This isn’t a panic buy after one geopolitical crisis. It’s a sustained, deliberate reallocation.
The pace has moderated slightly, with 2025 purchases projected at approximately 863 tonnes. But the trend carried into early 2026 with force.
