China adds 650,000 ounces of gold in August, the most in almost three years

The People's Bank of China added 650,000 fine troy ounces of gold in August, the largest monthly increase since October 2023, and extended its buying streak to 22 months, according to figures released on Monday by the central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Official holdings stood at 76.73 million ounces at the end of August, or about 2,386.57 metric tons. That is 650,000 ounces above the end-July stock. July itself had seen a 640,000-ounce purchase. June was 480,000. March was only 160,000. The pace has climbed through the spring and summer even as the gold price moved higher.

Market desks put the dollar value of the gold book near $350 billion at the end of August, up more than $40 billion in a month on a mix of new ounces and a higher price. Gold is still only about 8 percent of China's foreign-exchange reserves, which SAFE reported at $3.4383 trillion at end-August, up $19.5 billion on the month. The United States and German official books hold gold at shares several times that level. Beijing is catching up from a low base, not matching those shares in one summer.

The streak began in November 2024. From that month through August 2026 the PBOC has added about 3.93 million ounces. China Daily, citing Wind data, noted that the last larger single-month jump was October 2023, at 740,000 ounces. August 2026 is therefore the biggest print in almost three years, not the biggest print on record.

SAFE's explanation for the wider reserve rise was technical. The dollar index fell in August, asset prices were mixed, and currency translation plus mark-to-market moves lifted the headline stock. That sentence covers the non-gold part of the book. It does not explain why the gold line rose by 650,000 ounces. Gold purchases are a policy choice. The bank is buying metal while the price is elevated, which means it is paying more dollars per ounce than it did in 2024. The choice only makes sense if the aim is a larger physical stock, not a cheaper average cost.

Central banks as a group have been net buyers for several years. The PBOC is the most watched name in that group because of the size of each print and because China does not always disclose purchases in the month they occur. When the monthly table shows a jump, traders treat it as confirmation of a bid that was already in the market. When the table is flat, they assume Beijing may still be buying through other vehicles. Twenty-two consecutive official increases remove some of that ambiguity for this cycle.

Eight percent of reserves in gold is still a dollar-heavy book. A $3.44 trillion stock means more than $3 trillion remains in currencies and other assets. The August purchase does not change that arithmetic. What it changes is the slope. Three months at 480,000 to 650,000 ounces, if continued, would add more than 200 tons a year. That is a visible line item in the global bullion market, which has to source metal from mines, scrap and other official sellers.

For other reserve managers the PBOC print is a signal, not an instruction. India, Turkey and several eastern European banks have also been adding gold. None of them match China's monthly volume. If Beijing keeps the summer pace into the autumn, the official sector will remain a structural bid under the price even if exchange-traded funds sell.

The figure to watch next month is not the percentage of reserves. It is whether September stays near 650,000 ounces or drops back toward the 160,000-ounce prints of early spring. The streak can survive a smaller month. It cannot survive a halt if the point of the exercise is to show a continuous official bid.