China's central bank purchased 20 tonnes of gold in July, its largest monthly addition since October 2023, according to data posted on its news channel. The purchase lifted total official reserves to a record 2,366 tonnes.
The People's Bank of China has now accumulated gold in nine of the past ten months. July's 20-tonne haul matches the scale of purchases the central bank made before it halted public reporting of monthly additions in late 2023. The October 2023 purchase, the largest single monthly addition before July, was 23.5 tonnes.
China's official gold holdings have grown 614 tonnes since the PBOC resumed disclosing monthly purchases in December 2023, when reserves stood at 1,752 tonnes. The accumulation is denominated in the bank's official currency reporting, which values holdings at historical cost rather than market price. At current spot prices, China's gold reserves exceed $160 billion in notional value.
The PBOC's gold buying follows a decade of steady accumulation that lifted reserves from 1,054 tonnes in 2009, when the central bank began raising its published gold position. The resumption of disclosed purchases in late 2023 marked a return to monthly transparency after a period of opaque accumulation. World Gold Council data shows central banks worldwide bought 1,037 tonnes of gold in 2023, the highest annual total in over fifty years.
China holds the world's second-largest official gold reserve by volume, behind only the United States, which maintains 8,133.5 tonnes. Russia holds 3,459 tonnes, according to World Gold Council figures. The dollar value of China's gold as a share of total foreign reserves has risen steadily as the renminbi's use in international trade has expanded and as the country has reduced its holdings of foreign currency denominated in dollars.
The nine purchases over the past ten months return China to the pattern it established between 2009 and 2023, when it added roughly 1,000 tonnes over fourteen years. At the current monthly rate of 20 tonnes, China would add 240 tonnes annually, compared to a historical average of roughly 71 tonnes per year. If this rate continues through 2026, China would acquire enough gold to narrow the gap with the United States by roughly 200 tonnes per year.
The timing of renewed disclosure in December 2023 aligned with China's efforts to strengthen the renminbi's international role and reduce reliance on dollar-denominated reserves. Central bank gold purchases have accelerated globally since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Western nations froze portions of Russia's foreign exchange reserves. China's July purchase arrived as renminbi internationalization efforts advanced with new currency swap agreements and expanded settlement infrastructure in Asia.
