China Shifts Part of Its Gold Reserves From London to Hong Kong After 20 Straight Months of Buying

China's central bank is moving part of its physical gold reserves from London to Hong Kong after 20 consecutive months of gold purchases. According to a Bloomberg report carried by Arzdigital on Friday, August 7, 2026 (16 Mordad 1405), Beijing has increased its physical gold holdings in Hong Kong in recent months. Hong Kong launched trial operations of its Precious Metals Central Clearing Company (PMCC) on July 7, 2026 (16 Tir 1405), infrastructure directly linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange that settles physical gold on a T+1 basis, unlike the London market, which operates mainly on unallocated accounts.

Per the same report, China bought about 14.93 tonnes of gold in June 2026, its largest monthly purchase since October 2023, taking its official gold reserves to 2,346 tonnes by the end of June. The World Gold Council said the world's central banks bought a combined 288.9 tonnes of gold in the second quarter of 2026, the strongest such quarter on record.