Gold is like the lifeboat on the Titanic. When the financial ship faces storms like wars, inflation, or uncertainty, central banks turn to gold to stay afloat. Most central banks are buying more gold, showing just how important it is to protect your money.
Between February and May 2025, the World Gold Council asked central banks about its importance.
A record 73 central banks took part in the survey, the most since the Council started asking eight years ago. These banks came from all corners of the world and vary in how much gold they hold, making the results a good snapshot of global thinking about investments.
So, what did they say?
In short, gold still matters a lot as a strategic investment asset.
In times of crisis or uncertainty (like wars, inflation, or financial shocks), gold has a reputation for being a reliable “store of value” (something that keeps its worth over time, or something that doesn’t lose value).
Gold is like a financial insurance company that you need and has always helped you financially in times of need.
Gold helps central banks diversify, meaning they are not putting all their eggs in one basket as an investor.
Here are the key takeaways from the survey:
- An overwhelming 95% believe that global central bank gold reserves will grow over the next year. This means how much they have stored/bought as gold will increase.
- A record 43% plan to increase their gold holdings in that time.
- Not a single central bank said it plans to cut its gold reserves.
- Why buy more gold? Because it performs well in crises, spreads risk across different assets, and helps guard against inflation (when prices rise and money loses value).
- Most central banks (73%) expect the US dollar’s importance will decline over five years.
More central banks are now keeping some of their gold reserves in their own countries, 59% this year compared to 41% last year. However, only 7% said they plan to increase how much gold they store at home in the next 12 months.
The Bank of England is still the most popular place for central banks to store their gold, with 64% of them keeping gold there.
Why it matters to you:
- Central banks remain confident about gold’s future.
- Gold still matters a lot as a strategic asset.
- Central banks expect gold, along with other currencies like the euro and Chinese renminbi, to play a bigger role.
How You Can Get Exposure
As a retail investor, you can own a small part of gold by buying the NewGold ETF on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE).
This fund follows the price of real gold, letting you benefit from its value without needing to buy or store physical gold yourself.
