ECB data: Gold tops global official reserves, surpassing U.S. Treasuries in share

The European Central Bank released its latest report on the 2nd, showing that the share of gold in the total official reserve assets of global countries climbed to 27% by the end of 2025, surpassing U.S. Treasury bonds to become the largest asset category in global official reserves. The data also revealed that the share of U.S. Treasury bonds in global official reserves fell to 22%, while other U.S. dollar-denominated reserve assets accounted for 20% and euro reserve assets accounted for 15%.

Regarding the rapid rise in the share of gold reserves, the ECB attributes valuation gains as the primary factor in its report. International gold prices rose significantly for two consecutive years from 2024 to 2025, increasing the book value of existing gold and directly boosting its weight in the reserve structure. Even though gold prices have consistently operated in historically high ranges, the scale of global central bank gold purchases remained high in 2025. The ECB analysis states that against the backdrop of rising global geopolitical uncertainty, central banks continue to increase their gold holdings. On one hand, this is to optimize the structure of foreign exchange reserve allocation and advance asset diversification; on the other hand, it relies on gold's natural safe-haven attributes to hedge against asset risks brought about by geopolitical fluctuations, thereby strengthening the resilience of their own balance sheets.