European Central Bank: Gold Becomes the World's Largest Official Reserve Asset

The European Central Bank says that by the end of 2025, gold will account for 27% of global official reserve assets, surpassing U.S. Treasury bonds to become the world's largest official reserve asset.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the European Central Bank released a report on Tuesday (June 2) stating that the proportion of US Treasury bonds in global official reserve assets has fallen to 22%, while other dollar-denominated reserve assets account for 20%, and euro-denominated reserve assets account for 15%.

The report argues that the significant increase in the proportion of gold reserves is primarily due to valuation effects. Benefiting from the explosive growth in international gold prices in 2024 and 2025, the value of gold assets rose accordingly, resulting in a larger share in global official reserves.

The report's survey data shows that despite historically high gold prices, central bank gold purchases are expected to remain at a high level in 2025. The European Central Bank stated that central bank gold purchases enhance the resilience of their balance sheets amid rising geopolitical risks, not only for asset diversification but also to hedge against geopolitical risks.

Source: [Lianhe Zaobao] (https://www.zaobao.com/news/world/story20260603-9145614)