LBMA 2026: Central banks aren’t done with gold as geopolitical risks reshape reserves – Bundesbank’s Nagel - Kitco

Speaking at the LBMA's 2026 conference, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel indicated that central banks are not finished accumulating gold, framing the metal as a key component of reserve strategies amid shifting geopolitical conditions. His remarks suggest that official-sector demand — a significant driver of the gold market in recent years — may continue rather than taper off.

For market participants, the relevance lies in what central bank buying represents. Reserve managers typically accumulate gold gradually and hold it for the long term, so their purchases can influence underlying demand without being tied to short-term price moves. Nagel's comments also highlight how geopolitical risk, rather than purely economic factors, is increasingly shaping how institutions think about reserve diversification.

What to watch: whether other central banks echo this stance in coming months, and how official-sector demand trends appear in periodic reserve data. These signals matter for understanding the broader backdrop against which gold is valued, even if they don't dictate day-to-day price action.