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Z6610 – GC Central Bank Net Buying

Central bank gold buying is the slow-cycle strategic flow. PBOC + RBI + CBR + TCMB led 2010s accumulation; PBOC alone reportedly added 200+ tonnes 2022-2024 during dollar-weaponization era.

At a glance

IN-SEASON · ACTIVE

Current reading

-0.941

GC Central Bank Net Buying composite, tanh-bounded

Signal state

Moderate NEG

132 trading days in current state

Phase

STRESS

Positive equals cb net buying accelerating; negative equals cb net buying decelerating

Sample

36 years

Live since 1990-11

 

As of Nov 06, 2026. Updated nightly.

SIGNAL OVERVIEW

Central bank gold buying is the slow-cycle strategic flow. PBOC + RBI + CBR + TCMB led 2010s accumulation; PBOC alone reportedly added 200+ tonnes 2022-2024 during dollar-weaponization era. Multi-month leading indicator. The composite is bounded between minus one and plus one through. Across 36 years Phase +1 cb net buying accelerating state has returned on average plus 1.33 percent forward 60-day gold return. Phase -1 cb net buying decelerating state has returned on average plus 1.29 percent. Today the composite reads -0.941, in Moderate NEG territory.

LIVE CHART

GC Central Bank Net Buying: composite bounded minus one to plus one.

The dark line in the top panel is the composite bounded between minus one and plus one. The pale red band marks cb net buying decelerating regime. The pale green band marks cb net buying accelerating regime. The bronze line in the middle panel is the trailing 252-day rolling Spearman information coefficient. The lower panel is COMEX gold continuous back-adjusted price on the right axis in dollars per ounce.

Extreme cb net buying decelerating band Extreme cb net buying accelerating band

COMPOSITE

-0.941 / tanh

STATE

(nightly)

PHASE

(nightly)

FWD 60d

(nightly, baseline +1.27 percent)

SAMPLE N

9,024 days

TODAY’S PLAYBOOK READING

STATE

Moderate Neg

STATE AND HISTORY

Moderate NEG. Sample N=9,024 days since 1990-11.

WHY THE SIGNAL IS HERE

Central bank gold buying is the slow-cycle strategic flow. PBOC + RBI + CBR + TCMB led 2010s accumulation; PBOC alone reportedly added 200+ tonnes 2022-2024 during dollar-weaponization era. Multi-month leading indicator.

POSTURE FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD

The signal is a regime detector on a 60-day forward horizon. Pair with price momentum signals for conviction.

WHAT THE CHART SHOWS

Today the composite reads -0.941 placing the dot inside the Moderate NEG band.

TOP INPUTS FIRING

  • Silver returns Primary silver price momentum.
  • 10-year TIPS-implied inflation breakeven Market-implied inflation expectation.
  • Rolling coherence trend 5-year first-difference of coherence at 170-day cycles.

THE REGIME MAP

The three regime phases, forward 60-day gold returns and sample share

Baseline gold forward 60 day return (unconditional): mean plus 1.27 percent, median plus 0.95 percent, across 6,370 trading days.

State Phase Share Fwd 60d HAC t Edge vs baseline Last firings
CB net buying accelerating +1 34.8% (2235 d) +1.33% +0.06pp Mar 2026, Dec 2025, Jun 2025
Normal 0 34.0% (2189 d) +1.18% -0.09pp Mar 2026, Jan 2026, Dec 2025
CB net buying decelerating TODAY -1 31.2% (2006 d) +1.30% +0.03pp May 2026, Sep 2025, Mar 2025

The historical pattern

How to use the signal today

CB net buying accelerating
2010-04
Composite series maximum
On 2010-04-01 the composite reached its series maximum plus 1.000. Gold subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the cb net buying accelerating regime pattern.
Composite +1.000 on 2010-04-01
CB net buying decelerating
2020-06
Composite series minimum
On 2020-06-02 the composite reached its series minimum minus 1.000. Gold subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the cb net buying decelerating regime pattern.
Composite -1.000 on 2020-06-02
Normal
2020-03
COVID shock regime
The March 2020 COVID liquidity shock drove violent regime shifts across gold drivers.
Multi-phase regime across COVID window

THE TRACK RECORD

Every state change in the last 2 years

5 state transitions from 11/21/2024 to 11/05/2026. Full history (64 total transitions since 03/14/1996) is downloadable.

State Start End Duration Fwd 60d SPY
Neutral 11/21/2024 12/20/2024 21d +2.81%
Defensive 12/23/2024 03/25/2025 63d -5.16%
Neutral 03/26/2025 04/24/2025 21d +5.55%
Expansion 04/25/2025 05/23/2025 21d +15.18%
Defensive LIVE 05/27/2025 current 365d +7.51%

Scroll inside the table for the full history. Forward 60-day SPY is measured from each run’s start date; a reader cannot trade off a start-date they only identify in hindsight, so this is a transparency log, not an alpha claim. Asterisked (*) returns are partial. The run is less than 60 trading days old. The full 60-day comparable fills in as more data arrives.

What this measures

Central bank gold buying is the slow-cycle strategic flow. PBOC + RBI + CBR + TCMB led 2010s accumulation; PBOC alone reportedly added 200+ tonnes 2022-2024 during dollar-weaponization era. Multi-month leading indicator. The composite is z-scored against a and bounded through.

Why it matters

Central bank gold buying is the slow-cycle strategic flow. PBOC + RBI + CBR + TCMB led 2010s accumulation; PBOC alone reportedly added 200+ tonnes 2022-2024 during dollar-weaponization era. Multi-month leading indicator.

The signal flags the current gold regime for the next 60 trading days on average. Pair with price-based signals for precise entry.

State-conditional spreads are empirical averages across 36 years. Individual regime windows can run longer or shorter than mean sample.

GO DEEPER

Want the full depth?

Brief covers wavelet-coherence methodology, three signature episodes (2009-02 QE recoupling series max, 2015-06 decoupling series min, 2020 COVID), and four caveats on reading a cross-asset coherence signal.

Signal consumers and siblings

Not investment advice · The analysis on this page is informational and educational. Signal readings, historical case figures, and empirical statistics are derived from publicly available data and are provided without warranty. Hypothetical performance results have inherent limitations, including the benefit of hindsight. Readers who intend to trade should consult a licensed investment professional and see the research brief for the full disclaimer.

Last refreshed Nov 07, 2026 03:31 PM ET