Central Banks Just Bought 289 Tonnes of Gold

289 tonnes in three months.

That’s how much gold central banks and other official institutions are estimated to have bought during the second quarter. Roughly five times the revised Q1 total — and a record for a second quarter.

One thing keeps standing out to me here: these aren’t short-term futures positions.

Central banks are moving actual gold into their reserves. And once it gets there, it can stay for years or even decades.

That’s a very different kind of demand from speculative buying. A hedge fund can close its gold position tomorrow. A central bank building reserves usually operates on a much longer time horizon.

And 289 tonnes of physical gold in just three months is difficult to ignore.

What makes it even more interesting is that central banks may no longer be the only major source of demand worth watching. Western investment demand has also started showing signs of returning.

If that continues while central-bank purchases remain elevated, two large sources of gold demand could be active at the same time.

Of course, central-bank buying can slow, ETF flows can reverse, and gold still has to contend with interest rates, real yields and the dollar.

But when I look at the physical side of the market, 289 tonnes in a single quarter stands out.

This isn’t a bet on the next Fed meeting.

It’s gold moving into long-term reserves.