China's Central Bank Increases Gold Holdings in June by Largest Scale Since 2023, "Gold Buying Spree" Extends to 20 Months
Alina Collins
The PBOC added 480,000 troy ounces of gold in June — its biggest single-month purchase in nearly three years — extending an unbroken buying streak to 20 months, even as gold prices suffered their sharpest monthly drop since 2008.
How big is 480,000 ounces?
China's gold reserves reached 75.44 million troy ounces by end-June, up 480,000 ounces in a single month.
That is the largest monthly purchase since October 2023 and the 20th consecutive month of buying — the longest streak since comparable data began in 2015.
This means → the PBOC is not making occasional purchases; it is executing a systematic, nearly two-year accumulation program.
Gold fell 12% — why did the PBOC buy more, not less?
Gold broke below $4,000 per ounce in June, dropping 12% for the month — the steepest monthly decline since 2008.
Two forces drove the sell-off: inflation fears from the Iran war + hawkish signals from the Fed, which boosted rate-hike expectations.
In plain terms = higher rates make gold — an asset that pays no interest — less attractive. Speculators sold; Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank cut their year-end price targets.
Yet the PBOC bought its largest batch in years. This reflects a simple fact: official buyers and speculative capital operate on entirely different time horizons.
Is it just China, or are other central banks buying too?
A June survey by the World Gold Council (WGC) found that the number of central banks planning to increase gold reserves over the next year hit a record high.
This means → China is not an outlier; it is the heaviest and most persistent buyer within a broader global trend of de-dollarization in reserve management.
What does this mean for ordinary investors?
The PBOC's 20-month streak is driven by one core goal: reserve diversification — reducing dependence on dollar assets and hedging geopolitical risk.
Put simply = the central bank is not trading gold on monthly price swings; it cares about whether its reserves are diversified and resilient a decade from now.
This signals something deeper: when official buyers accumulate during a crash while speculative money panic-sells, the two sides are no longer pricing gold by the same logic.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.