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Bloomberg
China reported an increase in its gold reserves for the first time in more than three years, shedding some light on the identity of the mystery buyers in the bullion market.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) raised its holdings by 32 tons in November from the month before, according to data on its website. That brought its total to 1,980 tons, the sixth-biggest central bank bullion hoard in the world.
The gold industry has been rife with speculation over the central banks behind nearly 400 tons of sovereign purchases during the third quarter. Only about a quarter of the buying was publicly reported at the time, causing market watchers to tout both China and Russia as potential culprits.
For China, the need to find an alternative to dollars, which dominate its reserves, has rarely been greater. Tensions with the US have been high since measures taken against its semiconductor firms, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated Washington’s willingness to sanction central bank reserves. China has gone long periods without disclosing changes in its gold holdings.