According to the latest data from the World Gold Council, central banks around the world bought a net of 10 tons of gold in May, a 56% decrease from April. The World Gold Council pointed out that the net purchase volume is far below the 12 month average of 42 tons.

For some analysts, the decrease in purchase volume is not surprising as the market lacks a key participant. In early June, the data released by the People's Bank of China showed that China did not purchase any gold in May, ending an 18 month long wave of gold purchases, which shocked the gold market.

Although China did not purchase gold in May, analysts say they do not expect China to end its gold purchase plan. Analysts point out that even after 18 months of buying gold, China's gold reserves are only equivalent to 4.9% of its total foreign exchange reserves.

Christopher Vecchio, head of futures and forex at Tastylive, said that according to some regional data, China seems to have bought gold in the last few weeks of June.

Although China has always been the dominant player in the gold market, it is not alone. In a recent interview with Kitco News, Juan Carlos Artigas, head of research at the World Gold Council (WGC), stated that central banks have demand from more than one country. He pointed out that more and more central banks are increasing their gold reserves.

In May this year, the Polish central bank Narodowy bank Polski purchased 10 tons of gold; Türkiye's central bank bought 6 tons of gold; The Reserve Bank of India purchased 4 tons of gold; The Czech National Bank purchased 3 tons of gold.

The largest seller in May was the National Bank of Kazakhstan, which sold 11 tons of gold.

Artigas pointed out that although it is still too early, the World Gold Council predicts that central bank gold demand will exceed a 10-year trend level of 500 tons by the end of this year.

He said, "Central banks around the world are prepared, and even if they cannot reach last year's levels, they may still achieve strong purchases."