About 89 per cent of global central banks that participated in a survey conducted by the World Gold Council believe gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months | Photo Credit: scanrail

Given the growing global uncertainty, central banks of most countries plan to accumulate more gold as part of reserves in the next 12 months.

Interestingly, about 89 per cent of global central banks that participated in a survey conducted by the World Gold Council believe gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months.

In fact, 45 per cent of the respondents expect their own gold reserves will also increase over the same period. The majority of the remaining respondents indicated they expect no change, while one per cent expect their institutions’ gold reserves to decrease.

Central banks have accumulated an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold over the past four years, up significantly from the 500 tonnes average over the preceding decade.

This marked acceleration in accumulation was on the back of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which has clouded the outlook for reserve managers, said the report.

Central banks increasingly view gold as an active and important strategic asset within their reserve portfolios. Concerns over interest rates, the inflation outlook and geopolitical uncertainty, show that diversification and risk mitigation continue to be key drivers of strategic reserve management decisions.

The majority of 74 per cent respondents see moderate or significantly lower US dollar holdings in global reserves over the next five years. Gold holdings are expected to increase, while the share of other currencies, such as the euro and renminbi will remain unchanged over the same period, said a survey conducted by the WGC, an association of 29 top gold mining corporations worldwide.

This year’s survey also reveals an emergent trend of central banks increasingly looking to diversify gold vaulting locations. The Bank of England remains the most popular vaulting location among 57 per cent of respondents, though central banks continue to diversify their storage across multiple locations.

Domestic storage came in second at 49 per cent, followed by the Bank for International Settlements at 16 per cent (a slight uptick from last year). The Swiss National Bank saw a notable decline in preference, dropping to 6 per cent from 12 per cent in 2025.

A trend was also observed in future plans for vaulting, with 7 per cent saying they plan to increase domestic storage and 9 per cent say they plan to diversify overseas storage locations in the coming 12 months.

Published on June 16, 2026