Central Banks Buy 4x More Gold and Pull Some Out of New York

Fortune reported on 22 October 2026 that “Central banks around the world are quietly stockpiling four times more gold than usual and are moving it out of the U.S.” The report rests on a Goldman Sachs note: Goldman “estimates central banks globally purchased 79 tonnes of gold in August, more than four times the amount of the pre-2022 average” of 17 tonnes a month.

The prediction market Kalshi relayed the story on X as central banks “secretly” stacking gold; Fortune’s own word is “quietly”. The buying figures are Goldman’s estimates, not official totals, and the two moves out of New York that Fortune names were announced by the central banks themselves.

Business Pill · CONCENTRATION

A short Business Engineer explainer on concentration: when a few big pieces make the total. It teaches the general idea only and says nothing about any central bank in this piece.

What Goldman Estimates

Goldman builds its monthly gauge “from trade and flow data instead of relying only on central bank disclosures, which tend to arrive with a delay and do not capture every purchase,” investingLive reported in its summary of the note, citing Reuters. That is why its numbers “often run above reported figures and can be revised.”

• August. An estimated 79 tonnes, against a pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes a month. By our arithmetic that is about 4.6 times; Fortune and Goldman put it at “more than four times”.
• The trend. “On a three-month seasonally adjusted basis, purchases are running at 85 tonnes per month,” Fortune writes, citing Goldman. investingLive reports Goldman’s July estimate was 44 tonnes.
• China. Goldman estimates China bought 25 tonnes in August and calls it the largest identifiable buyer. investingLive reports the People’s Bank of China officially reported adding around 20 tonnes that month.
• Why 2022. Fortune notes 2022 is “the year the Russia-Ukraine war began”.

Goldman Sachs’ figures are estimates built from trade and flow data, investingLive reports, and can be revised. We could not read the Goldman note itself.

What Was Posted on X

Kalshi, the prediction-market company, posted this at 11:30 UTC on 22 October, relaying Fortune’s report and describing central banks as “secretly” stacking 4x more gold and moving it out of the US. Fortune’s own headline says “quietly”; the figures behind it are Goldman Sachs estimates, which this piece sets out with their sources.

Where the Gold Is Moving

“Central bank holdings at the New York Fed declined 40 tonnes in August, Goldman added, while holdings at the Bank of England rose 46 tonnes,” Fortune reports. Two European central banks have published their own accounts of moving gold out of New York this year.

• The Netherlands. De Nederlandsche Bank said on 2 September 2026 that “Between March and August 2026, approximately 86 tonnes of gold were transferred from the combined total of approximately 313 tonnes held in the United States and Canada to London.” It did so largely “by first selling approximately 59 tonnes of gold in New York and then buying gold in London that meets the international market standards”, and physically moved more than 27 tonnes from the US and Canada to Zeist.
• Its reason. “In view of increasing geopolitical unrest, DNB is strengthening its crisis preparedness,” the bank said, describing gold held with the Bank of England as “the world’s most easily tradable gold”.
• France. The Banque de France upgraded 129 tonnes of gold, about 5% of its reserves, between July 2025 and January 2026, booking a capital gain of €12.8 billion, RFI reported in April. RFI says the gold was the last of the French reserves held in New York and was replaced with gold bought in Europe and held in Paris. Fortune notes the Banque de France made no reference to geopolitics and cited the purity of its bars.

Share of De Nederlandsche Bank’s 612.4 tonnes of gold by storage location, from its 2 September 2026 press release.

What Central Banks Told Goldman

Fortune reports that when Goldman surveyed central banks in August about where they stored their gold, 12% declined to confirm its location in 2026, against 10% the year before. In the same survey:

• 10% had diversified their overseas storage in 2026, against 2% the year before;
• 9% had increased domestic storage, against 5% in 2025;
• 18% declined to say where they would store their gold over the next 12 months, and 9% said they planned to diversify further.

Fortune does not give the number of central banks surveyed.

Why Reserve Managers Are Buying

investingLive, summarising the Reuters report on the note, writes that many central banks, “particularly in emerging markets, have been increasing gold holdings to diversify away from the US dollar and reduce exposure to financial sanctions, a trend that accelerated after Western countries froze Russian reserves following the invasion of Ukraine.” Goldman, per Fortune, says the motivations for diversifying away from G7 reserve currencies are “likely to remain in place.”

Our explainers on economic sanctions, the gold standard and the Bretton Woods system cover the history behind gold’s role as a reserve asset.

The Structural Read

As we read it, the buying is about how much gold a central bank holds; the storing is about where it sits. Fortune writes that for some central banks the debate is now where to store gold, and that this points to “broader concerns around reserve security and cross-country trust.”

As we read it, DNB’s statement shows the operational logic: gold in London is the easiest to sell in a crisis. The bank says gold held with the Bank of England “will therefore be the most readily available for DNB in a crisis situation.”

As we read it, the gap between estimates and disclosures is part of the story. investingLive reports Goldman’s estimate for China of 25 tonnes in August, against around 20 tonnes the People’s Bank of China reported for the month.

Three Implications

FOR RESERVE WATCHERS investingLive reports that the People’s Bank of China’s October figures are due around 7 November, a check on whether the pace has held.

FOR CUSTODIANS Fortune reports Goldman’s figures show central-bank holdings at the New York Fed down 40 tonnes in August and at the Bank of England up 46 tonnes.

FOR THE GOLD MARKET investingLive reports that Goldman sees official buying as a structural support, because central banks tend to buy steadily and with less sensitivity to price than investors.

The Business Engineer Lens

This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework AI’s Geopolitical Chokepoint.

The framework opens with this line: “The digital economy rests on a physical foundation that most people in that economy never see.”

As we read it, reserve gold is a physical asset of the same kind: its use in a crisis depends on where it sits and who can move it. The framework is about the minerals and processing behind AI and does not discuss gold or central banks.

What Is Not Established

The 79 tonnes, the 44 tonnes, the 85-tonne pace and China’s 25 tonnes are Goldman’s estimates; we could not read the Goldman note and rely on Fortune and on investingLive’s summary of Reuters. Fortune does not say how the survey was run or how many central banks answered it. Neither DNB nor the Banque de France named US policy as a reason for its move. Fortune does not name the central banks behind the 40-tonne fall at the New York Fed.

The Bottom Line

Goldman Sachs estimates central banks bought 79 tonnes of gold in August, more than four times their pre-2022 monthly average, with holdings at the New York Fed down 40 tonnes in the month. The Dutch central bank has cut New York’s share of its gold from 31.3% to 18.5%, and RFI reports that the Banque de France now holds all of its gold in Paris.