China’s central bank suspends gold purchases for a fourth month in August

(Reuters) – China’s central bank stopped buying gold for its reserves for a fourth straight month in August, official data showed on Saturday.

China’s gold holdings were 72.8 million fine troy ounces at the end of last month. However, the value of gold reserves rose to $182.98 billion, compared to $176.64 billion at the end of July.

Gold prices have risen this year on bets that US interest rate cuts are imminent and on haven demand driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, with central banks making robust purchases. (EMPTY/)

Gold prices are up 21% so far this year and are slightly below the record high of $2,531.60 reached on August 20.

Before the pause in its purchases, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) had bought gold for 18 consecutive months.

The central bank was the world’s biggest single buyer of gold in 2023, and its decision to suspend its buying has helped dampen demand from Chinese investors in recent months. (GOL/AS) The PBOC is expected to resume purchases at some point, despite high prices due to political rather than economic motivations, such as a desire to be less dependent on the US dollar as a reserve asset, a said Carsten Menke, an analyst at Julius Baer.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt in London, Qiaoyi Li and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)