Madrid.- The distrust of the dollar in recent months caused the world’s main central banks to change the traditional structure of their reserves and give less prominence to the planet’s main currency to demand, instead, greater amounts of gold.
This reality, moreover, has been one of the main reasons for the increase in the price of the yellow metal.
Central bank reserves ensure they have sufficient liquidity to conduct foreign exchange operations when necessary and are usually composed of U.S. dollars, other strong currencies, sovereign bonds, and gold.
Although the dollar is positioned as the first reserve currency worldwide, according to data from the Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) published by the IMF, it has lost weight in recent years, especially after Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House.
The official dollar reserves represented 57.8% of the total foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2024, but this percentage fell throughout 2025 to 56.92% at the end of September, the latest data from the IMF.
Central Bank Gold Reserves
In parallel, according to the World Gold Council, central banks’ gold reserves increased by 863 tons in 2025.
By country, the National Bank of Poland was the largest buyer, with 102 tons; followed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, 57 tons; the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, 53 tons; the Central Bank of Brazil, 43 tons, and the People’s Bank of China, 27.
Even so, the U.S. Federal Reserve remained the world’s largest holder of gold reserves in 2025, with 8,133 tons.
Behind them, the German Bundesbank, with 3,351 tons; the Bank of Italy, 2,452 tons; the Bank of France, 2,437 tons; the Bank of Russia, 2,335 tons, and the Bank of China, 2,280 tons.
Increase in Gold Purchases
The increase in gold purchases by the different central banks of the world is one of the main factors that has led to the ‘rally’ in the price of gold in recent months, in which the troy ounce has reached a historical high near $5,600.
ATL Capital’s investment director, Ignacio, points out that central banks, especially those in emerging countries, are seeking “to have more gold reserves due to the loss of confidence in the dollar.”
“President Donald Trump is causing many central banks to diversify more, as most of them have strong currencies, mainly dollars,” he describes.
In his opinion, “if we take an overall balance, perhaps what used to be reserves of 60% or 70% in dollars, are now 50% and instead, gold, the euro and other currencies have risen.”
Banco BiG analyst Joaquín Robles agrees that, given the uncertainty in the markets and geopolitical conflicts, “central banks are buying physical gold to diversify their reserves in dollars since it is an unseizable asset that could not be subject to sanctions.”
Robles also believes that investors are “concerned” about the US deficit which “is almost at 40 trillion and is a future threat”.
Furthermore, according to the expert, many countries and institutions prefer to reduce their exposure to the dollar as a “rejection” of Trump’s policies and due to the weakness of the US currency, since “dollar-denominated assets have lost 15% in the last year alone due to the devaluation of the currency”.
