World Gold Council: Q2 2026 Gold Demand Held Flat at 1,269 Tonnes as Central Bank Buying Jumped to 289 Tonnes

The World Gold Council published its Gold Demand Trends report for the second quarter of 2026 on Thursday, 30 July 2026. It showed that total gold demand including over-the-counter trading was unchanged year on year at 1,269 tonnes in the second quarter. First-half demand reached 2,522 tonnes, up 2% on a year earlier, with a record value of US$380 billion.

The sharpest change came from central banks, whose net purchases rose to 289 tonnes in the second quarter, against just 56.5 tonnes in the first quarter, a sharp return to the elevated levels typical of the past four years. Gold ETFs, by contrast, saw outflows of 45 tonnes, a response to weaker gold prices and upward adjustments to inflation and interest rate expectations, particularly in North America. Bar and coin investment held broadly steady at 307 tonnes.

Jewellery consumption fell to 278 tonnes, its lowest quarterly volume since the pandemic, although spending on gold jewellery rose 14% year on year to US$40 billion. The LBMA (PM) gold price averaged US$4,506.29 an ounce in the second quarter, 8% below the first-quarter record but 37% above the Q2 2025 average.