Some of the largest buyers of gold are not individuals or funds but the world's central banks. Their behaviour has changed sharply over the past thirty years.

From the gold standard to 1971

For much of the twentieth century, money was tied to gold. After the Second World War, under the Bretton Woods system, other currencies were pegged to the US dollar and the dollar could be exchanged for gold at US$35 an ounce. In 1971 the United States ended that convertibility, and gold became a freely priced asset.

The selling years

In the 1990s and early 2000s many central banks, especially in Europe, saw gold as an old-fashioned reserve that earned no interest, and sold large amounts. To avoid unsettling the market, a group of European central banks agreed in 1999 to limit and coordinate their sales.

The return to buying

After the 2008 financial crisis the trend reversed. Central banks as a group have been net buyers of gold every year since 2010. According to the World Gold Council, their purchases exceeded 1,000 tonnes a year in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024, the highest levels in decades.

Why they buy

  • Diversification. Gold reduces dependence on any single reserve currency.
  • No counterparty. Gold held in a country's own vaults is not someone else's liability and cannot default.
  • Long-term trust. Gold has kept its value across centuries and political systems.

Who is buying

Reported buyers in recent years include the central banks of China, Poland, Turkey and India, among many others. Some purchases are announced; some are only visible later in official statistics.

What it means for the market

Central banks tend to buy steadily and hold for the very long term. That gives the gold market a base of demand that does not depend on short-term price moves, one reason the price has held up even when other investors have sold.

Figures are as reported by the World Gold Council and official sources. This article is general information, not investment advice.

全球最大的黃金買家之一，並非個人或基金，而是各國央行。過去三十年，央行對黃金的態度出現了明顯轉變。

由金本位到1971年

二十世紀大部分時間，貨幣與黃金掛鈎。二次大戰後的布雷頓森林體系下，各國貨幣與美元掛鈎，美元則可按每盎司35美元兌換黃金。1971年美國終止美元兌換黃金，黃金從此成為自由定價的資產。

拋售年代

1990年代至2000年代初，不少央行（尤其是歐洲央行）視黃金為不生息的過時儲備，並大量出售。為免衝擊市場，多家歐洲央行於1999年達成協議，限制並協調售金規模。

重新增持

2008年金融危機後，趨勢逆轉。自2010年起，全球央行整體每年都是黃金淨買家。根據世界黃金協會數據，2022、2023及2024年央行購金量每年均超過1,000公噸，為數十年來最高水平。

增持原因

  • 分散風險。黃金可減少對單一儲備貨幣的依賴。
  • 沒有交易對手風險。存放於本國金庫的黃金並非任何人的負債，不存在違約問題。
  • 長久信任。黃金的價值跨越多個世紀及不同政治制度。

哪些央行在買

近年有報道增持黃金的央行包括中國、波蘭、土耳其及印度等。部分購買會公開宣布，部分則要待官方統計公布後才得知。

對市場的意義

央行傾向穩定買入並長期持有，為黃金市場提供不受短期價格波動影響的需求基礎。這也是在其他投資者拋售時，金價仍能保持堅挺的原因之一。

數據來自世界黃金協會及官方公布。本文僅供一般參考，並不構成投資建議。

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