Central bankers at the LBMA's annual conference in Sorrento reaffirmed gold's strategic reserve role even as government bond yields surge to multi-decade highs.
Banca d'Italia deputy governor Sergio Nicoletti Altimari called gold 'the safe haven asset' in an environment of high geopolitical risk and fragmentation, while Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel said the case for diversification into gold remains significant despite rising yields.
The buying backs the talk: central banks bought a record 289 tonnes of gold in the second quarter of 2026, and a UBS survey found 65% of reserve managers cite diversification as their primary reason for owning gold.
