In August 2026, central banks around the world increased their official gold reserves by a total of 39 metric tons in net terms, with the People’s Bank of China emerging as the largest buyer, according to an analysis by Experts Club based on data from the World Gold Council (WGC) published on October 6.
According to the WGC, the main buyers of gold in August were:
China — 20.2 metric tons
Poland — 7.8 metric tons
Uzbekistan — 7.8 metric tons
Kazakhstan — 7.4 metric tons
Turkey — 2.9 metric tons
Czech Republic — 1.7 metric tons
Bolivia—about 1 metric ton
Ghana—about 1 metric ton
China continued to purchase gold for the 22nd consecutive month. In August, the People’s Bank of China increased its gold reserves by approximately 20.2 metric tons—the largest monthly increase since October 2023.
From January through August, China purchased about 80 metric tons of gold. The country’s official gold reserves reached approximately 2,387 metric tons, accounting for about 9% of China’s total international reserves.
Despite China’s lead in August alone, Poland remains the largest buyer of gold since the beginning of 2026. The National Bank of Poland purchased about 7.8 metric tons in August and 98 metric tons since the start of the year. Poland’s gold reserves have grown to approximately 648 metric tons, approaching its stated target of 700 metric tons.
Uzbekistan increased its reserves by approximately 7.8 metric tons. Since the beginning of the year, the country has purchased about 50 metric tons of gold, bringing its total gold reserves to approximately 439 metric tons. Gold accounts for about 90% of Uzbekistan’s reserves.
Kazakhstan purchased about 7.4 metric tons of gold in August, bringing its total purchases since the beginning of the year to approximately 36 metric tons. The country’s gold reserves reached about 377 metric tons, or 79% of its international reserves.
Turkey returned to net purchases after three months of sales, acquiring about 2.9 metric tons. However, since the beginning of 2026, the country has remained a major net seller—the total reduction in reserves amounts to about 82 metric tons, with the bulk of sales occurring in the first quarter.
The Czech National Bank purchased about 1.7 metric tons, thereby extending its streak of net gold purchases to 42 consecutive months. Since the start of the year, the Czech Republic has added about 14 metric tons, increasing its reserves to 86 metric tons.
Overall, from January through August 2026, central banks worldwide reported net purchases of approximately 170 metric tons of gold.
The World Gold Council notes that the composition of the largest buyers remains relatively stable. This indicates that central banks are purchasing gold primarily as part of their long-term reserve management policies, while monthly fluctuations are linked to the timing of program implementation, market conditions, and individual countries’ liquidity needs.
For comparison: in July, central banks worldwide purchased 23 metric tons of gold on a net basis. Thus, in August, the volume of net purchases increased by approximately 70% month-over-month.
Official source: World Gold Council, Central Bank Gold Statistics, published on October 6, 2026.
According to Serbian Economist, the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) is preparing to implement an instant payment system in accordance with SEPA standards, which is expected to speed up transactions and bring the country’s financial infrastructure in line with pan-European regulations.
This involves the launch of instant payments that will allow transfers in euros to be made within seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The project is being implemented as part of Montenegro’s broader integration into the EU payment area.
The Central Bank notes that the introduction of SEPA Instant is aimed at improving the efficiency of the payment system, reducing transaction costs, and improving conditions for businesses and citizens, especially in cross-border payments.
In the long term, this should simplify financial transactions with the EU, enhance the country’s attractiveness to investors, and accelerate the development of digital financial services.
Montenegro, which uses the euro as its de facto currency, is actively adapting its financial infrastructure to European standards.
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Fixygen analyzed the importance of regulators and their role in the crypto asset market. The cryptocurrency market is becoming increasingly sensitive to the rhetoric of central banks and the actions of financial regulators. Against the backdrop of expectations of interest rate changes and tighter rules for stablecoins and exchanges, the regulatory agenda is becoming one of the main drivers of price movements.
In its latest comments, the US Federal Reserve has allowed for the possibility of lowering the key rate in 2025, provided that inflation is under control. For cryptocurrencies, this is a signal of a potential increase in risk appetite and growth in liquidity in financial markets. The Fed’s policy easing traditionally supports interest in Bitcoin, Ether, and major altcoins, as investors are more actively engaging in strategies in the high-yield asset segment.
The European Central Bank maintains a more hawkish rhetoric, emphasizing the need to keep rates high to combat inflation, but at the same time notes a slowdown in the eurozone economy. This situation limits the inflow of European institutional capital into the crypto market in the short term, but reinforces expectations of future easing, which could be an additional stimulus for digital assets in the medium term.
The UK, through the Financial Conduct Authority, is tightening rules for stablecoins and crypto exchanges. The regulator is introducing stricter requirements for issuers’ reserves, transaction transparency, and investor protection. This increases the reliability of large stablecoins and infrastructure players, but may drive some smaller and less transparent projects out of the market.
Japan and South Korea are continuing their policy of tightening control over the crypto market with a focus on protecting retail investors. This includes stricter token listing rules, increased requirements for proven reserves, and exchange liability for fraudulent schemes. At the same time, these countries remain among the most technologically advanced markets, where digital finance and trading platforms are actively developing.
China officially maintains a tough stance on cryptocurrency trading, but at the same time promotes state blockchain solutions and the digital yuan. Through Hong Kong and special regimes for fintech companies, projects in the field of Web3 and tokenization are supported. Any easing or new pilot regimes in Hong Kong quickly affect regional liquidity and activity on Asian platforms.
Taken together, the statements and actions of regulators are creating a complex but gradually more structured environment for the cryptocurrency market. The easing of US monetary policy, stricter requirements for stablecoins and exchanges in Europe and Asia, and experimental regimes in China and Hong Kong will remain key factors for price dynamics and investor sentiment in the coming months.
Germany’s central bank does not expect the country’s GDP to grow in April-June 2025 after an unexpected rise in the first quarter. The economy has “probably stagnated” and the underlying trend is still characterized as “generally weak,” according to the Bundesbank’s monthly report.
The central bank warned that the introduction of 30% import duties recently announced by US President Donald Trump would create a “significant risk of economic decline.”
“In the short term, Germany’s export industry will face additional obstacles in the form of US tariff policy,” the Bundesbank said in a report.
Germany’s economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous three months. The GDP growth rate was the highest since the third quarter of 2022. However, this increase is largely due to attempts by businesses and exporters to get ahead of US duties.
Preliminary data on the dynamics of Germany’s GDP in the second quarter will be published on July 30.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center made a video analysis of the prospects for the Ukrainian and global economies, see more in the video – https://youtu.be/kQsH3lUvMKo?si=F4IOLdLuVbYmEh5P
Germany’s central bank expects the country’s economy to grow in April-June for the second consecutive quarter after falling at the end of 2023.
According to preliminary calculations of the statutory office of the Federal Republic of Germany, in January-March GDP increased by 0.2% compared to the previous three months. It fell 0.5% in October-December 2023.
“The economy is likely to expand slightly again in the second quarter,” the Bundesbank said in a statement on Wednesday.
Activity in the services sector was likely to have continued to strengthen on the back of rising household income and consumer spending.
“Growth in household disposable income is likely to take the upper hand from consumer uncertainty,” Central Bank analysts suggested.
However, they noted that the construction sector remains very weak.
The German labor market is expected to remain resilient and wages look set to continue to rise rapidly. This could be a risk to cooling inflation, which the Bundesbank estimates will accelerate slightly again in May.
The final data on Germany’s first-quarter GDP dynamics will be released on May 24, while preliminary information for the second quarter will be presented on July 30.
Earlier Experts Club analytical center and Maxim Urakin released a video analysis of how the GDP of the world’s countries has changed over the past years, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=BsZmIUERHSBJrO_3.
Subscribe to Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
CENTRAL BANK, ECONOMY, EXPERTS CLUB, GDP, GERMANY, MACROECONOMICS, URAKIN
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) bought $269.6 million on the interbank foreign exchange market from September 16 to September 20, which is 36.2% more than the previous week.
Some $80 million was purchased at the best purchase price (using a matching tool), $189.6 million was purchased at a flat rate (using the matching tool), the NBU said on its website. The central bank did not sell currency last week.
Since the beginning of 2019, the NBU has bought $3.81 billion and sold $248.23 million on the interbank market. In particular, the National Bank bought $582.1 million in the three weeks of September, purchases from August 5 to August 30 totaled $316 million, they amounted to $760.9 million in July and $322.3 million in June.
