Deutsche Bank: central banks hold 30% gold reserves

Deutsche Bank said in an April 27 research report that gold now makes up 30% of global reserves, up from about 10% at its lows after the end of the Cold War. The bank tied that shift to central-bank buying in emerging markets, higher gold prices and a broader reassessment of reserve assets. A related Deutsche Bank “Chart of the Day,” indexed on the bank’s research site in May, repeated the 30% figure and said gold’s share had already tripled from its lows. The bank framed the move as part of what it called “the return of history” in the global monetary system. ### Where does the 30% figure come from? Deutsche Bank’s April 27 report, titled “The return of history: gold, the dollar, and the monetary future,” says gold’s share in global reserves has risen to 30% today. A May “Chart of the Day” on the same theme used the same number and said a fuller reversal of the post-1989 period would be consistent with gold reaching at least 40% of reserves. The World Gold Council’s latest country reserve database, updated with data through March 31, 2026, shows central banks still hold large official gold stocks. Deutsche Bank’s 30% figure refers to the value share of global reserves, not the tonnage share, which helps explain why the number has risen as bullion prices climbed. (dbresearch.com) ### Did Deutsche Bank really say the dollar is down to about 40%? Deutsche Bank’s public April 27 report preview available through its research site says the post-Cold War system was defined by emerging-market central banks accumulating large U.S. dollar foreign-exchange reserves, but the searchable excerpt does not show a 40% figure for the dollar. The social post circulating on May 21 attributed that number to Deutsche Bank, but I could not independently verify it from a public Deutsche Bank document. (gold.org) The International Monetary Fund’s COFER data brief for 2025 third quarter put the dollar’s share of disclosed foreign-exchange reserves well above 40%, with other public summaries of recent IMF data placing it in the mid- to high-50% range. That suggests the Deutsche Bank claim, if accurately quoted, may be using a broader reserve framework that includes gold and other reserve assets rather than only foreign-exchange reserves. (dbresearch.com) That is an inference from the available documents, not a published Deutsche Bank explanation I could verify. ### Why has gold’s share climbed so much? Deutsche Bank said all central-bank gold purchases since 2008 have come from emerging markets. Its May chart said emerging markets still hold only 16% of reserves in gold, which the bank cited as evidence there is room for further buying. The World Gold Council’s 2025 central-bank survey said official-sector purchases topped 1,000 tonnes in each of the last three years, well above the 400-500 tonne average of the prior decade. (data.imf.org) The survey said geopolitical and economic uncertainty had increased gold’s appeal for reserve managers. (prod1.dbresearch.com) ### What changed from the 1990s? Deutsche Bank’s report says the decades after 1989 were marked by developed-market central banks selling gold and by reserve accumulation centered on the U.S. dollar. The bank argues that period has ended, and that reserve management is shifting as geopolitics, sanctions risk and fragmentation alter how central banks think about liquidity and safety. (visualcapitalist.com) Brookings, in a February 2026 analysis, also described a long decline in central-bank gold holdings through 2000 followed by a renewed rise in the value of those holdings. Brookings estimated gold accounted for about 17% of all global foreign reserves at the end of 2024, underscoring that different methodologies can produce different reserve-share numbers. (dbresearch.com) ### What should readers treat as verified here? Deutsche Bank’s public research materials support the core claim that gold’s share of global reserves has risen to about 30% and that the bank sees scope for that share to rise further. Publicly available IMF and World Gold Council data support the broader trend of reserve diversification and sustained central-bank gold buying. (brookings.edu) The specific claim that the U.S. dollar’s share of foreign-exchange reserves has fallen to roughly 40% could not be confirmed in the public Deutsche Bank material I found on May 21, 2026. If Deutsche Bank publishes the full note or a client copy becomes public, that document would be the next place to check for the bank’s exact methodology and denominator. (dbresearch.com)