China gold reserves continue to climb, up for a 14th month running

• China gold reserves at the end of December: 74.15 million troy ounces ↑
• In November: 74.12 million troy ounces
• China gold reserves value at the end of December: $319.45 billion ↑
• In November: 310.65 billion

The streak continues with this being a cycle that started all the way back in November 2024. Central bank buying has been a key reason in underpinning the price of gold over the past year and China is arguably at the forefront of it all. As mentioned before, there are suspicions that Beijing is buying way more than what is advertised. So, make what you will of the numbers above.

But as we look to the new year, fiscal concerns in major economies alongside the de-dollarisation push will continue to prompt central banks to stick with gold buying. As such, don’t expect this driver to dissipate any time soon.

After a hot start to the new year, gold is taking a bit of a breather today with price down 0.7% to $4,465 currently. The low earlier today touched $4,441 as the latest bounce starts to run into some selling pressures.

Going long in precious metals is arguably the heaviest consensus trade to start the year and with anything that has such one-sided sentiment, they can be dangerous on any pullbacks. So, just be mindful of that.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.