The price of gold began to rebound last year, in a context where both central banks and investors sought safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. While many took advantage of the situation to buy, others opted to sell, capitalizing on high prices. The BestBrokers report, based on data from the World Gold Council for the first quarter of 2025, reveals that Poland maintained its leadership as the world’s top buyer by acquiring 48.6 tonnes of gold between January and March 2025.
According to the report, this figure represents nearly half of its total purchases in 2024, which amounted to 89.5 tonnes. The Polish central bank, Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP), has significantly accelerated its accumulation of reserves, most likely motivated by its geographic proximity to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the end of the first quarter, Poland held a total of 496.8 tonnes of gold, valued at $53.1 billion based on the May 9 price, which stood at $3,324.55 per ounce.
The document also highlights Azerbaijan, which in March added 18.7 tonnes of gold to the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ), after having made no purchases in the previous two months. As a result, its reserves reached 165.3 tonnes, representing 25.8% of its assets. China, for its part, bought 12.8 tonnes during the first quarter of the year, a lower figure than the 15.3 tonnes acquired in the last quarter of 2024. Although it could surpass the 44.2 tonnes accumulated last year if it maintains this pace, its purchases still fall far short of the record 224.9 tonnes reached in 2023.
Kazakhstan, which led gold sales in 2024, changed its strategy in 2025 and resumed accumulation with 6.4 tonnes purchased in the first quarter. In contrast, Uzbekistan led the sales with a net divestment of 14.9 tonnes, after buying 8.1 tonnes in January and selling 11.8 in February and 11.2 in March. It was followed by the Kyrgyz Republic and Russia, with sales of 3.8 and 3.1 tonnes, respectively.
Meanwhile, the United States remains the country with the largest national gold reserve, with 8,133.46 tonnes in the form of bars and coins. However, Switzerland stands out for having the highest per capita gold holdings: 115.19 grams per person, equivalent to 3.70 troy ounces or 37 small 0.1-ounce coins.
