China raised its gold reserves for a ninth straight month in July as central bank purchases continue to underpin prices of the precious metal.
- China has led central bank buying in recent months as it continues to diversify its reserves.
The industry body expects central banks to keep adding to their holdings, although at a slower pace than last year when demand surged in the hunt for alternatives to the dollar after the US sanctioned Russia’s reserves following its invasion of Ukraine.
- Meanwhile, China’s total foreign currency reserves rose to $3.204 trillion in July, up 3.2% on the year and 0.4% on the prior month.