(Yicai) May 8 -- China’s central bank increased its holding of gold for the 18th consecutive month in April, as prices of the safe-heaven asset continue to surge. Meanwhile, it lowered its foreign exchange reserves.

The People’s Bank of China had 72.8 million ounces of gold as of April 30, an increase of 60,000 ounces from a month earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced yesterday.

The PBOC started to raise its gold holdings in November 2022, and since then, they have jumped by about 10 million ounces. 

Gold prices have been rallying this year. The London Gold Fix Price was USD2,319.60 per ounce as of 3.00 p.m. UK time yesterday, up nearly 4.9 percent from the beginning of April and over 12 percent from the beginning of January.

The SAFE also released China’s forex reserves data yesterday. As of April 30, the country’s forex reserves had fallen 1.4 percent to USD3.2 trillion from a month earlier, mainly because of the impact of currency translation and asset price changes.

The US dollar index jumped nearly 1.8 percent to 106.32 in the period, while global financial assets declined.

However, the Chinese economy has solid foundations, strong resilience, and great potential, which are favorable conditions to maintain the stable scale of its forex reserves, the SAFE noted.

Editor: Futura Costaglione