Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
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China completed its 18th consecutive month of gold purchases, pushing reserves to an all-time high. Moreover, the People’s Bank of China notched the largest single monthly demand surge in 15 months, signaling a rapacious appetite for physical gold and a policy-driven accumulation. Meanwhile, Chinese consumer demand remains tepid, but the real drivers of precious metals prices remain strong.
WGC Reports Robust Official Chinese Demand
The World Gold Council (WGC) reports that the PBOC loaded up on eight tons of gold in April, representing the largest month-to-month rise since April 2024. Over the past few years, the central bank has notched several streaks of gold buying lasting more than 12 months. This particular run has lasted for a year and a half and shows no signs of abating. April’s influx of physical metal brings China’s total gold holdings to 2,322 tons.
China Sheds USD & Embraces Gold
The WGC’s analysis on Chinese gold buying trends only tells half of a momentous economic story, with real-world impact for both global and American investors. While the PCPB is loading up on physical metal, it’s simultaneously shedding USD reserves. This de-dollarization trend is a larger global trend of countries seeking to distance their economies from the greenback, threatening its long-held status as the world’s reserve currency.
Overall, the PBOC’s gold stockpile is estimated to be worth $3.8 trillion, representing 9% of China’s total reserves. Meanwhile, USD represents roughly 55% of the central bank’s reserve assets, with an estimated value of $1.7 trillion. However, these stagnant figures paint a complete economic picture. While gold has been comprising a greater portion of China’s reserve portfolio, the U.S. dollar has been declining.
In 2005, the greenback accounted for about 79% of the country’s foreign exchange reserves. That figure dropped to 58% in 2014 and fell further to 55% in 2019 — the last year for which public information is available. Between 2014 and 2029, the value of Beijing’s USD holdings nearly halved from $2.23 to $1.7 trillion.
Gold ETF Holdings Notch a Fresh Record
Retail investors followed suit with stellar gold-exchange traded fund (ETF) inflows, hitting an eight-month streak of investments. The WGC reports that local ETFs attracted a whopping $498 million of purchases in April alone. This bumps total assets under management to an all-time high of $45 billion, while overall holdings climbed to a peak of 301 tonnes.
Chinese Gold Imports Surge as Buying Booms
One of the strongest signals of underlying demand came from China’s import data. Net gold imports reached 143 tonnes in March alone, jumping 49% from the previous month. The broader trend is even more striking.
China imported a net 316 tonnes of gold during Q1 2026, representing a 182% increase from the prior quarter and a staggering 333% rise from Q1 2025 levels. The surge may reflect stronger investment demand, elevated central bank activity, or efforts to rebuild domestic supply amid persistent appetite for physical gold.
What powered the demand spike?
The WGC attributes China’s seemingly bottomless gold appetite and April’s solid uptick in purchases to several factors:
Policy-Driven Official Purchases
The PBOC has demonstrated a clear policy shift toward accumulating more gold stockpiles while offloading the U.S. dollar in an attempt to gain more independence over its local currency and broader economy.
Robust Investment Demand
Retail buyers pulled their weight with a strong upswing in bullion gold purchases, which helped to offset relatively modest jewelry consumption. This marks a notable shift from gold buying focused on traditional and holiday-related gold jewelry purchases to investment-driven demand.
Ongoing Geopolitical Uncertainty
Another major catalyst of China’s uptick in gold consumption is the conflict surrounding the Strait of Hormuz — Iran’s main channel for exporting petroleum. Beijing purchases a staggering 90% of Iranian oil, placing disproportionate pressure on the Chinese economy. The Iran War and the resulting oil shock have supported safe-haven demand, especially for gold.