Central bank gold demand remains strong. Our GS nowcast estimates central bank purchases of 79 tonnes in August, well above the pre-2022 average of 17 tonnes, with China accounting for a large share. On a three-month seasonally adjusted basis, purchases are running at 85 tonnes per month.We continue to see central bank demand as a structural support for gold. EMcentral banks, particularly China, remain underweight gold relative to plausible long-term allocations, while the motivations for diversifying away from G7 reserve currencies, including geopolitical and financial risk, likely remain in place. If anything, interest in gold and reserve security is broadening beyond EM central banks. DM central banks have largely remained on the sidelines of the buying wave since 2022, partly because they already hold substantial gold reserves for historical reasons. But the debate is increasingly shifting from whether to own gold to where to store it. pointing to broader concerns around reserve security and cross-country trust. Consistent with this shift, foreign central bank gold holdings at the New York Fed declined by 40 tonnes in August, while custodial holdings at the Bank of England rose by 46 tonnes.