CHINA expanded its gold reserves for a sixth straight month in April which increased by about 70,000 ounces, said Bloomberg News citing data on Wednesday. In the latest six-month span, volumes have climbed by close to 1 million ounces, or about 30 tons.
The increase underlined China’s push to boost holdings of the precious metal as prices trade near a record and the trade war rumbles on, the newswire said.
Gold has rallied to successive records this year, supported by concerted central-bank buying as authorities seek to diversify holdings away from the US dollar. Bullion’s upswing — with prices up nearly 30% higher this year — has also been aided by rising investment demand as the US-led trade war unsettles financial markets, raises concern about US assets, and drives haven demand, said Bloomberg.
Central banks have increased their gold purchases roughly five-fold since 2022, after a freeze on Russian reserves, according to Goldman Sachs Group. The trend is likely “a structural shift in reserve-management behavior, and we do not expect a near-term reversal,” analysts said in a March note.
At that time, the bank estimated that the PBOC held around 8% of its reserves in gold, below the global average of about 20%, and also far lower than the elevated share seen in some developed economies. If Beijing were targeting an allocation of 20%, and maintained an average pace of about 40 tons a month, it would take about three years to reach a that level, the analysts said.
