International

What's behind China's Gold-buying Spree?

For more than a year, China's central bank has been buying up large amounts of gold.

The move, along with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, have helped spike the price of the precious metal to new highs.

The price of gold broke the $2,300 (€2,212) level for the first time this week as geopolitical issues, expectations of US interest rate cuts and China's accumulation of the precious metal spurred interest from speculators.

The move by China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBC), has been mirrored by other mostly emerging market central banks, who are all keen to up their gold holdings.

The PBC has been adding to its gold reserves for the past 16 months in a row, according to the World Gold Council. In 2023, the PBC bought more gold than all other central banks.

The industry body calculated China's purchases of the precious metal last year at 225 metric tons, roughly a quarter of the 1,037 tons bought by all the world's central banks.

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