According to the World Gold Council’s Central Banks Gold Reserves Survey 2026 issued on June 16, central banks are increasingly changing the storage locations for their gold reserves. The survey was conducted between Feb 5 to May 19, with the majority of the 76 responses coming in after the start of the Middle East conflict.
The survey reported that 7% of central banks plan to store gold domestically while 9% indicated that they intend to diversify overseas storage locations over the next 12 months. For the previous corresponding period, 9% of respondents increased domestic gold storage while 10% said that they have expanded overseas storage locations.
The Bank of England remains the most popular vaulting location at 57%, although this figure is down seven percentage points from the previous period. The trends presumably reflect concerns over sovereign control of reserves in an era marked by geopolitical tensions and economic volatility.
An overwhelming majority of reserve managers, 89%, also revealed that they expect global central bank gold holdings to continue increasing over the next 12 months, with a record 45% of expecting their own institution’s gold holdings to rise over the next 12 months.
Around 83% believe that gold’s share as a total of reserves will grow over the next five years as opposed to 76% in the previous survey. Meanwhile, 74% of respondents expect the US dollar’s share of global reserves to be lower in five years.
When asked about the factors driving their decision to hold gold, a record 90% of respondents cited gold's performance during times of crisis, while 84% cited gold as a long-term store of value and 82% indicated portfolio diversification as among the top three reasons.
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Notably, gold’s role as a geopolitical risk hedge featured prominently, particularly among emerging market and developing economy respondents (85%), while the proportion citing historical legacy as a reason to hold gold continued to fall to 46%, from 62% in 2025.
WGC global head of central banks Shaokai Fan says that this year's survey sends a clear message that central bank demand for gold remains on an upward trajectory. “A record number of respondents plan to add gold to their own reserves in the next year, while a large majority expect global official sector holdings to keep rising,” says Fan
“What stands out is the shift in how central banks think about gold. Fewer see it as a legacy holding; more see it as an active, strategic allocation in an environment defined by geopolitical uncertainty and reserve diversification."
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The price of gold peaked at around US$5,500 in January 2026, but has declined to hover around US$4,300, reversing its gains since the start of the year.
Interestingly, when asked about non-traditional asset holdings, 58% of respondents indicated that they intend to increase their holdings in sustainable bonds while 47% plan to increase allocation to investment grade corporate bonds.
