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    Switzerland loses its shine as central bank gold vault: demand signals for miners

    June 17, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Switzerland loses its shine as central bank gold vault: demand signals for miners

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Central banks added a net 17 tonnes of gold in April and have accumulated about 1,000 tonnes over the past four years, yet the share stored with the Swiss National Bank has halved to 6% from 12% as institutions diversify away from Switzerland’s traditional neutrality. Nearly 90% of reserve managers expect to increase gold holdings, while 74% expect to cut US dollar reserves within five years, with advanced and emerging economies now aligned on this view. About half plan to fund new gold via local-currency domestic programmes rather than selling dollars, creating a structurally different demand channel for gold miners.

    Technical Brief

    • Net central bank gold buying resumed in April with 17 tonnes added after March net selling.
    • Poland and China were the main April buyers, according to the World Gold Council report.
    • Gold stored with the Swiss National Bank dropped from 12% to 6% of surveyed holdings in one year.
    • 54% of reserve managers now treat trade conflicts and tariffs as relevant to reserve allocation decisions.
    • Emerging market central banks were almost twice as concerned about tariff risk as advanced economy peers.
    • Bullion traded around $4,318/oz on the survey’s publication Tuesday, after a mid‑May price dip and rebound.
    • Around half of respondents cited gold’s inflation hedge, geopolitical hedge and portfolio diversification roles as primary motives.

    Our Take

    With central banks adding a net 17 tonnes of gold in April against an average of 500 tonnes a year over the past decade, the current pace in our database still points to steady but not yet extreme reserve accumulation, which may temper expectations for a sudden squeeze on physical bullion supply.

    Nearly 90% of central banks in the WGC survey expecting higher gold reserves and 74% anticipating lower dollar holdings over five years aligns with other gold-tagged coverage where bullion is framed as a balance-sheet hedge rather than a pure price bet, signalling more structural support for long-term gold demand than for other commodities.

    Half of surveyed central banks planning to fund new gold purchases in local currency suggests that bullion flows may increasingly bypass traditional dollar- and Swiss franc-centred channels, which could gradually reduce the relative importance of Switzerland and other G10 hubs in physical custody and trading logistics.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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