PBoC adds 740,000 ounces, the most of its 23-month run
China's gold reserve reached 77.47 million ounces at the end of September, about 2,409.59 tonnes. Foreign-exchange reserves fell $38.1 billion in the same month, and London gold closed September down 6.52%.
By The Gold & Metals Desk
What changed
The biggest month of the run. China's central bank bought 740,000 ounces in September, lifting holdings to 77.47 million from 76.73 million in August. It is the twenty-third month running.
What it means
- If you buy metal for the bench: Official buying does not stop when gold gets dear. Twenty-three months is a standing bid under your metal line.
- If you quote into the fourth quarter: The addition landed in a month London gold fell 6.52%. The bank raised its pace into weakness.
- If you watch reserve mix: Gold was about 8.8% of Chinese official reserves at end-2025 against 27% across all central banks.
- What this is not: A forecast. This is one month of a published series, and the bank issues no guidance on future buying.
Key figures
| September additionlargest since the 2024 restart | 740,000 oz |
|---|---|
| Holdings, end-Septemberabout 2,409.59 tonnes | 77.47m oz |
| Months of buyingsince November 2024 | 23 |
| Reserve, month on monthCarat Capital's division | +0.96% |
Source: People's Bank of China September reserve data, published 7 October 2026 via Eastmoney / 中国基金报 · ounces and tonnes as the source states them
The biggest month since the restart
Equal to October 2023. Carat Capital's 9 August record put the prior largest single addition at 740,000 ounces, in October 2023. September matches that figure rather than beating it.
Twenty-three months running. Buying resumed in November 2024 after a pause. Every monthly print since has been a purchase on the bank's own published series.
| Month | Holdings, m oz | Holdings, tonnes | Month's addition |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 77.47 | 2,409.59 | 740,000 oz |
| August 2026 | 76.73 | 2,386.57 | 650,000 oz |
| July 2026 | 76.08 | about 2,366 | 640,000 oz |
Notes on this table
September and August holdings, in both units, are printed as the source states them: 7747万盎司 / 2409.59吨 and 7673万盎司 / 2386.57吨. September's addition of 74万 ounces is also the source's. August's addition is not published in that report and is Carat Capital's subtraction of the July level Carat Capital printed on 9 August from the August level the report gives: 76.73 less 76.08 is 0.65 million ounces. July's holdings, tonnage and addition are looked up in that 9 August article, never re-derived.
Bought into a falling month
Gold fell 6.52%. London gold and COMEX gold both closed September down 6.52%, ending two consecutive monthly gains, on the Eastmoney report's figures.
Two houses, two closes. The Perth Mint's own September update puts gold down more than 5.5% in dollars over the same month. Both outside readings are printed here, neither suppressed.
Priced at press time. At the $4,117.40 Kitco bid on Carat Capital's tape, 740,000 ounces is worth about $3.05 billion and the whole reserve about $318.97 billion.
The reserve mix is the motive
A low share. Wang Qing of Golden Credit Rating puts gold at about 8.8% of Chinese official reserves at end-2025. All central banks together hold 27%.
Reserve managers agree. A World Gold Council survey cited in the report has 45% of reserve managers expecting to add gold within twelve months. It calls that a record.
Foreign exchange went the other way
Down $38.1 billion. Foreign-exchange reserves ended September at $3,400.3 billion, 1.11% below August. SAFE attributes the fall to a stronger dollar and lower global asset prices.
What to watch
- Early November 2026October reserve data. A twenty-fourth consecutive purchase would carry the programme into a second full year since the November 2024 restart.
- Through October 2026The gold price itself. September's addition came in a month that fell; October tests whether the pace holds when the metal is not cheapening.
- Mid-November 2026World Gold Council quarterly demand trends, which price official-sector buying in tonnes against these monthly reserve prints.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
A month with no purchase. One flat print would end a twenty-three-month run and remove the clearest standing bid underneath the gold price. The series is monthly, so the test comes in early November.
How the reserve print is built
The People's Bank of China publishes official gold reserves monthly through the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, in units of 万盎司 — ten thousand troy ounces — alongside foreign-exchange reserves. The tonnage beside it is a conversion rather than a separate measurement. At 31.1035 grams an ounce, 7,747万 ounces is 2,409.6 tonnes; the source's own 2,409.59 is what prints above.
Method
The report was fetched to raw bytes at finance.eastmoney.com, HTTP 200, 64,602 bytes, saved to newsroom/sources/2026-10-07/pboc.html. Figures were taken only from inside the story's own body paragraphs, stopping before the page's hot-news and recommendation widgets, because a whole-page grep on this site also matches figures belonging to unrelated market stories. Exact-digit greps on the saved file: 7747 three hits, 74万 four, 7673 two, 2409.59 two, 2386.57 two, 23.02 two, 23个月 nine. The page's own dateline reads 2026年10月07日 10:00, Beijing time, and the body attributes the data to central-bank figures released on 7 October. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: ours of 2026-08-09, six-forty-thousand-ounces, covers JULY 2026 (640,000 ounces, 76.08 million ounces, twenty-first consecutive month); this item covers SEPTEMBER 2026 (740,000 ounces, 77.47 million ounces, twenty-third consecutive month). Same entity, different reporting period, so ADVANCED, not a repeat. Searched in website/content/articles.json: 7747 zero hits, 76.73 zero, 2,386.57 zero, 23rd zero, so August's print was never covered here either and September's is new. Derived figures, with the division shown: 740,000 divided by 76,730,000 is 0.96% month on month; 740,000 ounces at the $4,117.40 Kitco bid is $3,046,876,000, printed as about $3.05 billion; 77,470,000 ounces at the same bid is $318,974,678,000, printed as about $318.97 billion. August's 650,000-ounce addition is this paper's subtraction and is labelled as such in the table note. No pull quote is carried; Wang Qing's and SAFE's comments are paraphrased with attribution. The Perth Mint's "more than 5.5%" monthly gold figure was read from newsroom/sources/2026-10-07/perthmint.html in the same run and is a different reference close from the Eastmoney report's 6.52%; both are printed and labelled rather than reconciled.
Sources
- Eastmoney / 中国基金报 — central bank adds gold for a 23rd consecutive month 7 October 2026
- Carat Capital — 640,000 ounces: China's biggest gold month since 2023 9 August 2026
- The Perth Mint — September 2026 sales update (monthly gold price reference) 7 October 2026
- Carat Capital tape, session of 7 October 2026, Kitco bid at press time 7 October 2026