Gold’s shine faded, gold fell from the peak of Rs 1.80 lakh, know why central banks around the world suddenly started selling gold?

News India Live, Digital Desk: Gold, which was considered a ‘safe haven’ in the global market, now seems to be losing its shine. After touching the historical all-time high of ₹1.80 lakh per 10 grams in January 2026, gold prices have now started a major decline. The surprising thing is that the Central Banks which till yesterday were the biggest buyers of gold, have now become its biggest sellers. According to the latest reports of April 2026, gold prices have fallen by 12% since January. Why did the central banks break by becoming ‘strong walls’? In the last few years, banks of countries like Poland, China and India had made record-breaking purchases. In the year 2025 alone, central banks around the world had purchased 328 tonnes of gold. But now liquidity pressure (shortage of cash) and global instability has changed the tables. According to recent reports: Russia: For the first time in 25 years, sold 14 tons of gold from its gold reserve to compensate for the war losses. Turkey: To save its falling currency ‘Lira’, launched about 60 tons of gold in the market. France: Surprised everyone by selling its entire stock kept in the New York gold vault. Poland: Has started heavy selling to raise dollars. Currency and oil crisis spoiled the sports experts. It is believed that the Central Bank is making this ‘sacrifice’ not to earn profits, but to save its economy. The beginning of the war between Iran and the US has sent crude oil prices straight from $60 to $120 per barrel. Countries are in dire need of dollars to import oil. To protect their national currency from collapse and to balance foreign exchange reserves, banks are raising cash by selling gold. What is India’s stand? While banks around the world are selling gold, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had purchased 4 tonnes of gold in the year 2025. However, the impact of heavy selling happening globally is also visible on Indian markets. There is now a fear among investors that if the central banks continue to withdraw their stocks like this, then there may be a big fall in the prices. Will the price of gold increase again? According to market experts, the future of gold now depends on two major factors: Crude oil prices: If oil prices fall, the pressure on the currency will reduce and banks may stop selling gold. Geopolitical tension: If the Iran-US war stops and the dollar weakens, then only gold will rise. We can expect the momentum to pick up again.