China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for a second month in December, signaling renewed appetite after temporarily pausing purchases last year as prices soared.
Bullion held by the People’s Bank of China rose to 73.29 million fine troy ounces in December, from 72.96 million in the previous month, according to data released Tuesday. The central bank resumed adding to its gold reserves in November after a 6-month pause.
The purchase shows the PBOC is still keen to diversify its reserves even with gold at historically expensive levels. The metal’s rally to a record in 2024 was supported by monetary easing in the US, safe-haven demand, and sustained buying by global central banks.
Still, the rally cooled after Donald Trump’s US election victory buoyed the dollar. Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. pushed back a forecast for when gold was seen hitting $3,000 an ounce, citing the expectation of fewer rate cuts by the Fed in 2025.
