China's central bank stepped up its gold buying in September, adding 740,000 ounces — the biggest monthly increase in three years, according to official data released Wednesday.
The People's Bank of China has now bought gold for 23 consecutive months, lifting reserves to 77.47 million ounces. The pace is accelerating as prices pull back: September's increase topped the 650,000 ounces added in August and 640,000 in July.
Meanwhile China's foreign exchange reserves slipped $38.1 billion to $3.4 trillion at the end of September, which the State Administration of Foreign Exchange attributed to currency translation and asset price changes.
