Gold continues to lead in the Debasement Trend. We flagged it as "one of the best charts to watch" at the start of the year. Price has surged +60% over the following 9 months. Central banks have purchased more than 600 tonnes of gold in 2025, following record prints in 2023 and 2024 that exceeded the highs seen after the GFC. When gold’s price jumps to new highs, we typically see central banks stop buying or sell some of their holdings. But we’ve seen continued aggressive buying despite this huge price run up, and gold is a big story for China right now. The PBOC has been one of the most consistent buyers in the world, and that's just official data. The real numbers are likely much higher. Speculation is growing that China has been trying accelerate de-dollarization, with heavy gold purchases potentially playing a key role. Some have suggested that China's strategy would be to accumulate gold reserves, allow the gold price to rise, then devalue the yuan relative to gold. This would effectively increase the real value of those holdings and strengthen the case for settling more international trade in a yuan backed by substantially larger gold reserves. While plausible, this specific mechanism remains unconfirmed. Our full Markets Year Ahead Report covers this trend and the macro forces driving it heading into 2026.(Delphi Digital)