World Gold Council: More central banks will increase their gold holdings, driven by geopolitical risks.

Shaokai Fan, head of global central banks at the World Gold Council, said on Tuesday that gold's role as a hedge against de-dollarization and geopolitical risks is expected to prompt central banks previously absent from the market to buy the precious metal this year. He noted that in recent months, central banks in countries such as Guatemala, Indonesia, and Malaysia have begun purchasing gold, either returning to the market after a long hiatus or making their first gold purchases. "In the past few months, some new central banks, or those that have been inactive or absent from the gold market for a long time, are entering the gold market. I think this trend is likely to continue into 2026," he added. He also stated that some central banks are buying gold from small domestic producers to support domestic industries and prevent the gold from flowing to "informal players." He further noted that central banks took advantage of the gold sell-off last October to increase their holdings, but it is too early to judge whether a similar situation will occur in this month's decline. (Jinshi)