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China’s Gold Buying Spree Comes to a Halt After 10 Months

10 straight months of accumulation have boosted China’s stockpile by more than 100 tons.

China’s Gold Buying Spree Comes to a Halt After 10 Months
An employee arranges two hundred and fifty gram gold bars. Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg.

(Bloomberg) --

China just hit the pause button on its gold-buying spree.

The People’s Bank of China kept holdings level 62.64 million ounces in October, unchanged from a month earlier, according to data on its website on Thursday. That holding pattern follows 10 straight months of accumulation that have boosted the nation’s stockpile by more than 100 tons.

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Central-bank purchases have been an important feature of the global market this year, with official sector demand helping to support gold prices and offset a drop in demand from consumers. The backdrop to Beijing’s accumulation has been the nagging trade-war with the U.S., which has hurt growth.

Gold for immediate delivery traded 0.3% lower at $1,486.56 an ounce at 4:33 p.m. in Beijing, with losses following a statement from China that it’s agreed with Washington to roll back tariffs on each other’s goods in phases as the two sides work toward a deal. The precious metal is still up 16% this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Singapore at rpakiam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman2@bloomberg.net, Jake Lloyd-Smith

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.