- China’s gold reserves at the end of February 2026: 74.22 million troy ounces
- In January 2026: 74.19 million troy ounces
- Value of China’s gold reserves at the end of February 2026: $387.59 billion
- In January 2026: $369.58 billion
Is anyone really surprised? For some time now, China has undoubtedly been the biggest buyer there. And this may also be evident in the kind of price movement we have seen with gold in the last week.
The precious metal was bid up in every Asian trading session throughout the week, but fell back later in the day. From yesterday: Gold bidding has continued in Asia this week
Although this was still not enough to see gold succumb to a 2% weekly loss, it is the first weekly decline in the last five years and only the second so far this year.
Going back to China’s share, a reminder that the above numbers are what is being “officially” reported. It has long been speculated that Beijing is buying much more gold than is advertised here. As already mentioned last month, independent estimates such as those from the World Gold Council suggest that China’s actual share may be double what they report.
So, make whatever you want out of the above numbers.
Central banks have no shortage of reasons to hoard gold at this time. Escalating geopolitical tensions will increase fiscal concerns in major economies and push for de-dollarization, which will help gold maintain support even amid some volatile selling here and there.
However, it has been a difficult week for gold prices in general. The precious metal rose above $5,400 on Monday ahead of the start of the US-Iran conflict. That came amid a sharp round of selling on Tuesday, before bearish buyers took a move to the $5,000 level. The precious metal fell 2% this week to close at $5,171, as traders look to consolidate and assess further developments in the Middle East.
