🔥China is quietly accumulating gold — the real figure is nearly 5 times the official report

Goldman Sachs has just released an estimate that China bought more than 48 tons of gold through London OTC markets in May — the largest monthly purchase in more than 1 year.

Discrepancy between actual figures and announced data
- PBoC officially reported +10 tons for May -> GS’s estimated figure is 4.8 times higher
- In June, PBoC continued to announce +15 tons — the highest monthly level in at least 2.5 years, marking the 20th consecutive month of rising gold reserves
- Cumulatively since the start of 2026, China’s official gold reserves have increased by +40 tons. If we apply a conservative 2.0x multiple (instead of 4.8x), the amount of gold China has actually accumulated this year is roughly ~80 tons.
- PBoC’s current gold reserves are about 2,347 tons, accounting for only 8.9% of foreign exchange reserves — still far below the 60-70% level in the US or Europe.

The story here is not about 48 tons or 10 tons, but that China intentionally reports lower than actual figures, and maintains this practice in a systematic way over many years. Buying via London OTC using 400oz bars — a bar type that is not traded on the Shanghai exchange — allows them to accumulate inventory without pushing prices and without revealing intent.

After seeing Russia’s reserves frozen in 2022, Beijing understands that USD-denominated assets are an obvious enough risk. This is a price-insensitive demand: China buys for geopolitical reasons, not profit expectations, and purchase volumes rise further when prices fall.