According to data from the World Gold Council, Uzbekistan ranked among the world leaders in gold purchases in the second quarter of 2026. The country's central bank increased its gold reserves by 16 tonnes.
According to data from the World Gold Council, Uzbekistan ranked among the world leaders in gold purchases in the second quarter of 2026. The country's central bank increased its gold reserves by 16 tonnes.
During the reporting period, only the central banks of Poland and China purchased more gold. Poland increased its reserves by 51 tonnes, and China added 33 tonnes. Kazakhstan lagged behind Uzbekistan, making a net purchase of 15 tonnes, while Jordan and the Czech Republic increased their gold reserves by 6 tonnes each.
This ranking is based on net purchases, which are calculated as the difference between the volume of gold bought and sold during the reporting period.
The World Gold Council reported that a total of 289 tonnes of gold was acquired by central banks and other official institutions in the second quarter. This figure was a record for the second quarter, exceeding the volume from the same period last year by 62%.
Nevertheless, net purchases for the first half of the year amounted to 345 tonnes, the lowest level since 2022. This result was due to large gold sales by a number of countries in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Russia remained the largest seller, reducing its gold reserves by 22 tonnes.
The World Gold Council noted that central banks continue to view gold as a strategic asset for diversifying international reserves and mitigating risks amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. According to the organization's survey, 89% of central banks expect further growth in global gold reserves over the next year, and 45% of respondents plan to expand their own holdings.
According to data from the National Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics, Uzbekistan did not export gold in June 2026.
The agency reported that the total volume of gold exports for the period from January to June 2026 amounted to 1.504 billion US dollars. This figure matches the sum recorded for January-May, indicating no shipments specifically in June.
For comparison, in the same period of 2025, i.e., January-June 2025, Uzbekistan exported gold worth 6.492 billion US dollars. Consequently, gold exports this year decreased by 76.8% compared to last year for the same period.
The share of gold in the country's total export volume decreased from 37.3 percent in January-June 2025 to 9.5 percent in January-June 2026.
Against the backdrop of these changes, the foreign trade turnover of Uzbekistan for January-June 2026 reached 41 billion US dollars. This represents an increase of 2.8 billion dollars or 7.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
