WGC: Gold Demand Tops 5,000 Tons for the First Time on Investment, Central
Global gold demand surged past 5,000 tons in 2025 for the first time on record driven by a historic wave of investment inflows and sustained central bank buying, according to the World Gold Council’s (WGC) latest Gold Demand Trends report.
Total gold demand, including over-the-counter transactions, exceeded the 5,000-ton threshold as investors, institutions, and official buyers responded to geopolitical risk, falling real rates, and growing uncertainty across bond and equity markets.
Combined with a year of relentless price gains, the surge pushed the total value of global gold demand to a record US$555 billion, up 45 percent year-on-year.
Consequently, gold prices themselves rewrote the record books. The LBMA PM gold price set 53 new all-time highs during 2025, with the average price in the fourth quarter climbing to US$4,135 per ounce, up 55 percent from a year earlier.
Investment demand dominates, central banks remain a critical anchor
The WGC reported that investment demand was the primary driver of growth, accounting for the bulk of incremental buying during the year.
Global gold exchange-traded funds recorded net inflows of 801 tons in 2025, the second-strongest annual increase on record, which reversed years of subdued ETF participation.
At the same time, bar and coin demand accelerated sharply. Demand rose to a 12-year high as retail and high-net-worth investors sought safe-haven exposure in the midst of persistent geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around monetary policy trajectories.
That momentum carried into the final months of the year. Total fourth-quarter gold demand reached 1,303 tons, the highest ever recorded for a fourth quarter, further supported by ETF inflows of 175 tons and bar and coin buying of 420 tons.
Meanwhile, central banks continued to provide a firm foundation for demand even as purchases eased modestly from the extraordinary levels of recent years.
According to the report, net official-sector buying reached 863 tons in 2025, remaining historically elevated but below the more than 1,000 tons added in each of the previous three years. In the fourth quarter, buying accelerated with central banks purchasing 230 tons, up 6 percent quarter-on-quarter.
For instance, the National Bank of Poland emerged as the largest buyer for the second consecutive year, adding 102 tons in 2025 and lifting its gold reserves to 550 tons. Gold now accounts for 28 percent of Poland’s total reserves, approaching its revised 30 percent allocation target.
In January, the bank’s governor signaled an intention to increase reserves further to 700 tons, citing national security considerations.
Supply growth muted, technology demand holds steady
On the supply side, the response to soaring prices remained unexpectedly subdued. Total gold supply rose just 1 percent year-on-year to 5,002 tons, the highest level in the…
