National gold reserves revealed by central bank

The People’s Bank of China announced the country’s gold reserves totaled 1,658 tons at the end of June, the first such announcement since 2009 which revealed a nearly 60% increase during the interim, The Financial Times reported, citing a statement from the central bank. The purchases appear to reflect an attempt to diversify away from the US dollar, a task complicated by the rapid growth of China’s foreign exchange reserves–the world’s largest at more than US$3 trillion. At a value of about US$60.9 billion, the country’s gold reserves equal only 1.6% of its total foreign exchange holdings, while the global average was just under 10% at the end of 2014.