(Yicai) Dec. 9 -- The People’s Bank of China hiked its gold holdings in November, after six months of holding steady, as prices receded from a record high.

The People’s Bank of China had 72.96 million ounces of gold as of Nov. 30, an increase of 160,000 ounces from a month earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Dec. 7. It is the first increase since 60,000 ounces were added in April.

The price of gold has risen consistently since the beginning of the year, spurred by global political and economic uncertainties. Prices hit an all-time high of USD2,790 per ounce at the end of October before starting to pull back. The price was around USD2,657 per ounce as of 6:00 pm Beijing time today.

The Chinese central bank took advantage of the dip in gold prices to moderately increase its gold holdings, which aligns with market trends, said Zhao Qingming, deputy director of the Huiguan Information Technology Research Institute. From a global perspective, there is considerable room for China to increase its gold reserves, and the PBOC is likely to continue to buy more of the safe-haven asset, he added.

The recent correction in international gold prices is mainly due to strong US economic data, weakening expectations of more Federal Reserve rate cuts, and substantial rebounds in US treasury yields and the dollar, said Zhou Maohua, macroeconomic analyst at China Everbright Bank's financial market department.

Gold prices currently face a complex situation with mixed bullish and bearish factors, leading to unclear prospects, and significant short-term volatility is expected, Zhou added.

International gold prices could maintain an upward trend for a while, now that Donald Trump is the new US president-elect, as this may lead to changes in the international political and economic landscapes, Golden Credit Rating said in a recent research report. However, whether the central bank will continue to buy gold remains to be seen, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor