China gold imports: $158.8B in 8 months, PBOC at 23

China gold imports reached a record $158.8 billion in the first eight months of 2026, while the People's Bank of China has now bought gold for 23 straight months. For FX and metals traders, the buying matters because it comes as the bullion price has pulled back from its January high and U.S. yields have risen.

Key Takeaways

Record imports: China brought in more than 1,000 tonnes of gold from January to August, above the 886 tonnes imported in all of 2025.
PBOC streak: The central bank added about 23 tonnes in September, its largest monthly purchase in almost three years.
Treasury exit: China's holdings of U.S. Treasurys fell to an 18-year low of $618 billion in July.

What Happened

SAFE data show the PBOC added roughly 23 tonnes in September, extending the longest buying run since at least 2015. Customs data put China's gold imports in the first eight months of 2026 at 1,000+ tonnes, costing $158.8 billion. Imports for all of 2025 came to $96.5 billion.

Aakash Doshi of State Street Investment Management said consumer gold imports hit a record over the period. He read the rising premiums on China's onshore prices as a sign of "stronger winter seasonal demand."

Carsten Menke of Julius Baer estimated the central bank bought around 190 tonnes this year by end-August, including 110 tonnes that were unreported. He also linked the buying to Beijing's plan to build a deeper domestic gold market, which requires replenishing inventories.

Background

Analysts cited by CNBC point to both official and household motives. Menke described the PBOC's main motive as political, citing "the weaponization of the U.S. dollar and the related desire to be less dependent on U.S. Treasuries as a reserve asset." Western governments froze Russian central bank assets after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which showed that reserves held abroad can be restricted, while gold kept in a country's own vaults cannot.

Households have few alternatives. Real estate is in a multiyear slump, the CSI 300 is down around 8% this year against a 13% gain for the S&P 500, and China's one-year government bond yield has fallen to about 1.2%, versus about 4.46% in the U.S. Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen said the opportunity cost of holding gold is much lower in China than in many Western markets.

Gold fell more than 8% in September to about $4,176 an ounce, after hitting a record above $5,500 in January. ING's Ewa Manthey said Chinese buying has become an important source of structural support, and that central banks buy for the long term and are far less price-sensitive than retail investors.

Market Impact

XAU/USD: Gold's September pullback to about $4,176 an ounce came with U.S. yields buoyant, and the source says Chinese demand helped limit a deeper fall. Doshi forecasts $4,750 to $5,500 by the end of the first quarter of 2027.
USD/CNY: Hansen flagged a weaker yuan as a risk to Chinese gold demand because it makes the metal pricier at home. The ECB reference fix for USD/CNY on 2026-10-12 was 6.6910, given here as context only.
U.S. Treasurys: China's holdings of $618 billion in July were an 18-year low. The source ties this to Beijing's reserve diversification away from dollar assets.

What to Watch Next

Next SAFE reserve data: It will show whether the PBOC extends its purchasing streak beyond 23 months.
Federal Reserve path: The source says the Fed has indicated another rate hike is on the cards for 2026, and higher rates tend to weigh on gold.
Chinese property and equities: Hansen said renewed confidence there, or higher deposit rates, could blunt gold demand.

Bottom Line

China's central bank and households are both adding gold at a record pace, and analysts quoted by CNBC see that as structural support for the metal. Hansen said a lasting shift would require central banks to lose interest in reserve diversification and geopolitical tensions to ease, adding that "neither appears particularly imminent."

China gold imports hit $158.8 billion in eight months as PBOC buying streak reaches 23 months