The answer, first. China’s official gold reserves were 76.08 million troy ounces — about 2,366 tonnes — at the end of July 2026, the most recent month published by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. That was an increase of 640,000 ounces, roughly 20 tonnes, and the twenty-first consecutive monthly rise. Checked against SAFE and World Gold Council data on 19 August 2026.
The current figure
| Reported holdings | 76.08 million troy ounces (about 2,366 tonnes) |
| Change in the month | +640,000 oz, about +19.9 tonnes |
| Consecutive monthly increases | 21 — the longest run on record |
| Net additions, 2026 to date | About 60 tonnes |
| Total foreign exchange reserves | 3.4188 trillion dollars, up 0.07% on June |
| Gold as a share of total reserves | About 8% (World Gold Council, end-July) |
| Published by | State Administration of Foreign Exchange, 7 August 2026 |
China publishes reserve data in ounces. Every tonnage figure you read, including ours, is a conversion at 1 million troy ounces to 31.1035 tonnes, which is why sources disagree by a tonne or two. The ounce figure is the primary one.
The monthly record
The shape matters more than any single month. The PBoC resumed buying in November 2024 after a six-month pause, added token amounts through most of 2025, and has increased the size of the monthly purchase every month since March 2026.
| Month end | Million oz | Tonnes | Monthly change |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | 76.08 | 2,366.35 | +0.64 Moz (+19.9 t) |
| June 2026 | 75.44 | 2,346.45 | +0.48 Moz (+14.9 t) |
| May 2026 | 74.96 | 2,331.52 | +0.32 Moz (+10.0 t) |
| April 2026 | 74.64 | 2,321.56 | +0.26 Moz (+8.1 t) |
| March 2026 | 74.38 | 2,313.48 | +0.16 Moz (+5.0 t) |
| February 2026 | 74.22 | 2,308.50 | +0.03 Moz (+0.9 t) |
| January 2026 | 74.19 | 2,307.57 | +0.04 Moz (+1.2 t) |
| December 2025 | 74.15 | 2,306.32 | +0.03 Moz (+0.9 t) |
| November 2025 | 74.12 | 2,305.39 | +0.03 Moz (+0.9 t) |
| October 2025 | 74.09 | 2,304.46 | +0.03 Moz (+0.9 t) |
| September 2025 | 74.06 | 2,303.52 | +0.04 Moz (+1.2 t) |
| August 2025 | 74.02 | 2,302.28 | +0.06 Moz (+1.9 t) |
Read down the change column and the story is not the streak, it is the slope. Twelve months of roughly one tonne a month, then five months in which the monthly purchase went from about five tonnes to about twenty. July was the largest single month since October 2023.
What the number does not tell you
This is the part most coverage skips, and it is the part that decides whether the figure is useful.
- It is a reported figure, not an audited one. SAFE publishes a monthly number. No independent party verifies the holding. That is true of most central banks and is not an accusation; it is a limit on what the datapoint can carry.
- Estimates of larger undeclared holdings exist and are not verifiable. Analysts periodically argue that China’s true position is well above the reported one, sometimes by thousands of tonnes. Those figures are inferences from trade and refinery flows, not disclosures, and we do not report them as fact. The reported number is the checkable one, so it is the one on this page.
- The share-of-reserves ratio moves with price. Gold’s percentage of total reserves rises when gold rallies even if the central bank buys nothing. In 2026 the ratio has moved inside a band while the tonnage rose steadily, because the gold price fell sharply from its January highs. A change in the percentage is not evidence of a change in behaviour.
- A streak is not a target. There is no published Chinese target for gold holdings. Analyst benchmarks — ratios to money supply, comparisons with the US Federal Reserve’s holdings — are constructed by the analysts quoting them, not disclosed by Beijing.
Why the buying accelerated
Two explanations are on the record and they are not exclusive.
The first is price. Gold fell close to 30% from the all-time highs it set at the start of 2026. A reserve manager buying a strategic position rather than trading one buys more when the price falls, and the monthly pace did rise as the price came down. That is an observation about sequence, not proof of intent.
The second is allocation. Gold made up about 27% of global central bank reserve assets at the end of 2025 on European Central Bank figures, against roughly 8.8% for China. Chinese analysts quoted after the July release made the obvious point: on that comparison there is a lot of room left, which is an argument for the direction continuing rather than a forecast of any particular month.
China is also not alone. The World Gold Council put second-quarter 2026 net purchases by central banks and other official institutions at 289 tonnes, up 62% year on year.
Questions we get asked
How much gold does China hold now?
76.08 million troy ounces, about 2,366 tonnes, at the end of July 2026. That is the figure the State Administration of Foreign Exchange published on 7 August 2026 and it is the most recent official number.
How much gold did China buy last month?
About 20 tonnes — 640,000 ounces — in July 2026. It was the largest monthly addition since October 2023 and the fifth consecutive month in which the size of the purchase increased.
How long has China been buying gold?
Twenty-one consecutive months to the end of July 2026, having restarted in November 2024 after a pause. The World Gold Council describes this as the longest run on record. Cumulative additions since the restart are roughly 102 tonnes.
What share of China’s reserves is gold?
About 8% at the end of July 2026 on World Gold Council figures, against total foreign exchange reserves of 3.4188 trillion dollars. The share moves with the gold price as well as with purchases, so it is a poor proxy for how much the central bank is buying.
Does China hold more gold than it reports?
Nobody outside the Chinese state can answer that from published data. Estimates of larger undeclared holdings circulate and are built from trade and refinery flows rather than disclosures. We report the official figure because it is the one that can be checked, and we say so rather than presenting an estimate as a finding.
When is the next update?
SAFE publishes official reserve asset data in the first week of each month, covering the previous month end. The August 2026 figure is due in early September 2026.
Where does China rank?
By reported official holdings China is among the largest sovereign holders, behind the United States, Germany, Italy and France on the World Gold Council’s rankings. We do not publish a full league table here because those positions change slowly and the ranking is not what this page is checked against.
What we have reported
- China’s Gold Reserves Climb to $306 Billion, Extending 20-Month Buying Run
- PBOC Reportedly Moves to Bolster Hong Kong’s Gold Reserves as Trading Hub
Continuing coverage sits in Markets.
Sources
- State Administration of Foreign Exchange — official reserve assets, published monthly. The primary source for every figure on this page.
- World Gold Council, China gold market update, August 2026 — tonnage conversion, the 21-month streak, the share-of-reserves figure.
- Kitco News, 7 August 2026 — year-to-date net additions and the comparison with other central banks.
- European Central Bank, 2 June 2026 — gold as a share of global central bank reserve assets at end-2025.
How this page is maintained
SAFE releases in the first week of each month. We update the headline figure, the monthly table and the check date at the top within that week. If the date above is more than a month old, the number below it is probably one month behind — and we would rather you knew that than assumed otherwise.