(Kitco News) - China has extended its continuous gold purchase record after the central bank bought another 12 tonnes of precious metal last month.
Quoting the latest data from the People’s Bank of China, Krishan Gopaul, market analyst at the World Gold Council, said China’s gold reserves now total 2,257 tonnes.
“This is now 16 consecutive months of growth for PBoC gold reserves,” Gopaul said in a comment on social media.
China’s current buying frenzy is now on par with its 2015 streak, which lasted 16 months but skipped one month. The amount of gold China has bought in the last 16 months has well surpassed its previous shopping spree. China has purchased 297 tonnes of gold since November 2022
However, despite its shopping spree, gold still represents slightly more than 4% of its total reserves. The low foreign reserve ratio is one reason why analysts expect China to continue buying gold for the foreseeable future.
“I would bet that central banks are not going to relent on buying gold because it makes less and less sense owning other people's currencies in a growing disaggregated world, filled with uncertainty,” said Ryan McIntyre, Managing Partner at Sprott Inc., in a recent interview with Kitco News.
China’s latest reserve update comes as gold prices have seen a significant rally, rising to record highs above $2,160 an ounce. Many analysts have said that insatiable central bank demand has been a key factor in gold’s ability to hold critical support above $2,000 an ounce.
Neils Christensen
Neils Christensen has a diploma in journalism from Lethbridge College and has more than a decade of reporting experience working for news organizations throughout Canada. His experiences include covering territorial and federal politics in Nunavut, Canada. He has worked exclusively within the financial sector since 2007, when he started with the Canadian Economic Press. Neils can be contacted at: 1 866 925 4826 ext. 1526 nchristensen at kitco.com @KitcoNewsNOW
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