Gold, China's central bank slows purchases
In January - a month of record prices - Beijing's gold reserves increased for the 15th consecutive month, but by only 40,000 ounces.
China's central bank continues to buy gold, but at a more modest pace. There were also purchases in January, for the fifteenth consecutive month, but they were modest: 40,000 ounces (or about 1.1 tonnes), according to data released on Saturday 7 by the People's Bank of China.
Chinese gold reserves thus stood at 74.19 million ounces, with an accounted value of USD 369.58 billion, up from USD 319.45 billion a year earlier.
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The rally of the ingot - which trades at around $4,960 an ounce, having come close to $5,600 last month - reduces the buying impetus: with record prices, smaller volumes are sufficient to achieve the same diversification goals.
The China Gold Association meanwhile reported that in 2025, for the second year in a row, gold consumption in China has shrunk: -3.75% to 950 tonnes. However, the contraction is mainly related to the jewellery sector. Purchases of investment bars and coins, on the other hand, increased by as much as 35% and now account for more than half of the total gold consumption in China.
The World Gold Council (Wgc) had recently highlighted similar dynamics, globally: by 2025, investor hunger had become the sole driver of gold demand (but it was also so strong as to push it to an all-time high of over 5,000 tonnes).
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