Central banks bought far less gold during the first quarter of 2026 than previously thought, suggesting that one of the biggest growth engines for bullion demand may be cooling. A significant data revision has slashed the estimated level of central bank purchases from 244 tonnes in the first quarter to just 57 tonnes – the lowest first‑quarter level in more than 15 years, according to a new report from the World Gold Council, an industry body.

Central bank purchases have been one of the biggest drivers of the global gold market over the past four years and helped to propel the record‑breaking bullion rally that peaked earlier this year. However, it has become more difficult to measure their activity as their purchasing becomes more opaque, particularly that of big buyers such as China, which discloses only a portion of its purchases. A slowdown in central bank buying would be a significant damper on gold prices, which have already fallen almost 30 per cent from their January peak.

The industry body uses data provided by consultancy Metals Focus, which creates a quarterly estimate for official buying that combines public disclosures with market sources. The quality of public disclosures has declined since 2022, when US sanctions on Russia prompted many developing economies to start diversifying away from the dollar and to reveal less about their gold purchases.

During the first half of this year, central banks and other official institutions, such as sovereign wealth funds, bought an estimated 345 tonnes of bullion, the lowest six‑monthly level since 2022, according to the WGC report.

Overall gold demand during the first half of the year was about 2,522 tonnes, about 2 per cent more than the same period last year, according to the report. One factor weighing on gold demand recently has been outflows from gold‑backed exchange‑traded funds, which fell by 45 tonnes (about $4bn) during the second quarter.