For First Time in Nearly 30 Years, Foreign Central Banks Hold More Gold Than U.S. Treasuries

For the first time since 1996, foreign central banks hold more gold than U.S. Treasuries as the world continues to de-dollarize.

Crescat Capital macro strategist Tavi Costa highlighted the crossover moment in a post on X, saying it is “likely the beginning of the most significant global rebalancings we've experienced in recent history.”

Central banks have been aggressively adding gold to their reserves over the last three years.

Last year was the third-largest expansion of central bank gold reserves on record, coming in just 6.2 tonnes lower than in 2023 and 91 tonnes lower than the all-time high set in 2022. (1,136 tonnes). 2022 was the highest level of net purchases on record, dating back to 1950, including since the suspension of dollar convertibility into gold in 1971.

To put that into context, central bank gold reserves increased by an average of just 473 tonnes annually between 2010 and 2021.

10 oz Silver Bars (Design Our Choice) 10 oz Silver Bars (Design Our Choice) Price & Buy At the same time, dollar reserves have been falling. As of the end of last year, dollars made up 57.8 percent of global reserves. That is the lowest level since 1994, representing a 7.3 percent decline over the last decade. In 2002, dollars accounted for about 72 percent of total reserves.

A recent JPMorgan note said this reveals the waning dependence on the U.S. dollar in trade that is being reflected in the gold market.

“The main de-dollarization trend in FX reserves, however, pertains to the growing demand for gold. … This increased demand has in turn partly driven the current bull market in gold, with prices forecast to climb toward $4,000/oz by mid-2026.”

Many are concerned about the weaponization of the U.S. currency. In an article published by the Atlantic Council, Kimberly Donovan and Maia Nikoladze point out that “central banks that are worried about getting sanctioned, want to protect themselves from a potential global financial crisis, or both have been stacking up gold at record levels.”

There are also growing worries about the U.S. government’s fiscal irresponsibility. Earlier this month, the national debt pushed above $37 trillion, and there is no sign that the borrowing and spending will slow down any time soon.

Earlier this year, analyst Artis Shepherd called the sagging demand for U.S. Treasuries “red lights blinking.”

“The bond market is sending a message to the U.S. government that its spending is out of control and the reserve currency ‘privilege’ it has abused for the last 80 years is running out.”……..more….

I’m wondering if there is any gold left in Ft. Knox.
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President Trump dropped that promise like a hot potato, for now. I suspect two men dressed in black visited him in his office and told him it was a very, very bad idea to see how much Gold we have left.

That doesn’t mean he will not get busy with a full assay audit in the future. Problem is, those familiar state it would take up to 18 months to assay, check serial numbers, and check the paper trail for leased out Gold.

--- "Care to explain why?"

Just truncated sentence....

As to the remainder of my comment, any concerns? I'll reprise it, and amend the truncation:

An interesting assertion begins this article. But consider, our United States is 1) about four percent of the population of the globe, 2) based on various sources, about 30 percent of the global debt, and 3) about 25 percent of the global GDP or PPP, as one chooses to view things.
Nowhere in the above comparative and VERY approximate numbers, is this nation greater than half of anything. Therefore, the first sentence is silly, silly, silly. That the "foreign central banks hold more gold than U.S [ Treasuries ]" -- the remainder of the world -- should be no surprise to anyone.
The bottom of this website's splash page states the MEDIA company's address is:
P.O. Box 2599 · Eagle, ID
Interesting, then, that this site wants your CURRENCY by selling METALS through its site.
It's M A R K E T I N G.....

Mike Maharrey and Money Metals in Eagle, Idaho, will sell you gold today, if you buy in USD currency. So it's a margin thing, changing over time. They will also store it for you, for a fee. They will also buy your gold at a different price, since the buy and sell offers always have a nice differential, which is where the money is.

Selling Gold, Silver, Platinum & Palladium to Money Metals Exchange

As to which foreign nations "hold" our Treasuries --

Top 15 Largest US Treasury Holders in 2025: Who Owns America's Debt?
Working down from the top -- 1) Japan, $1.3 T; 2) UK, $0.8 T; 3) China, $0.76 T; 4) Cayman Islands ( yup ), $0.45 T; 5) Belgium, $0.4 T; 6) Luxembourg, $0.4 T; 7) Canada, $ 0.37 T; and so on.

But most U. S. Treasuries are held by us, it turns out. About 75 percent, various sources estimate.

Hope that explains my comments.

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