- China gold reserves at the end of February 2026: 74.22 million troy ounces
- In January 2026: 74.19 million troy ounces
- China gold reserves value at the end of February 2026: $387.59 billion
- In January 2026: $369.58 billion
Is anyone really surprised? China has arguably the biggest buyer out there for a while now. And that also might be evident with the kind of price action we've seen with gold in the past week.
The precious metal has been bid up in every Asian trading session all through the week, only to fall back afterwards later in the day. From yesterday: The bid for gold in Asia has been relentless this week
It still wasn't enough to see gold succumb to a 2% weekly loss though, its first weekly drop in five and only the second one so far this year.
Going back to China's holdings, do be reminded that the numbers above are what is "officially" being reported. It has been speculated for the longest of time already that Beijing has been buying way more gold than what is being advertised here. As mentioned last month already, independent estimates from the likes of the World Gold Council suggest that China's actual holdings may be double what they are reporting.
So, make what you will of the numbers above.
Central banks are not running out of reasons to stockpile gold at the moment. Heightened geopolitical tensions will just add to fiscal concerns in major economies and the de-dollarisation push, helping to keep gold supported even amid some volatile selling here and there.
That said, it has been a tricky week in general for gold prices though. The precious metal surged on Monday at the start of the US-Iran conflict to hit above $5,400. That before falling back on Tuesday amid a sharp round of selling before dip buyers stepped in at the $5,000 level. The precious metal settled on the week down 2% at $5,171 as traders look to consolidate and weigh up further developments in the Middle East.
