China Increases Its Gold Reserves

 | Jan 18, 2016 09:06AM ET

China acсrues its gold reserves

China reported on Friday it increased the share of gold in its reserves by 19 tonnes to 1762 tonnes in December. They increased by 21 tonnes in November and further by 45 tonnes since August to October. Meanwhile, the gross official reserves of China fell to the lowest since 2012 at $3.4bn at the end of this year. Market participants suppose the Bank of China decided to increase the share of gold in its reserves which is now around 1%. Will it support the gold prices?

China is not alone to acquire gold. The major New York based SPDR Gold Shares (N:GLD) fund stated on Wednesday the net volume of its gold stock increased by 11.7 tonnes. Investors acquire gold as a safe haven asset given the world stock market stagnation and low rates. On Friday the gold prices found support in the news that Chicago and St. Louis Reserve Banks were concerned with the modest economic expansion in the US. The data showed the December retail sales fell 0.1% while the industrial production fell 0.4% in the US. Taken altogether, these factors pushed the US dollar, which is negatively correlated with gold, lower.