SINGAPORE: China will press on with gold purchases this year and the central bank will probably scoop up more than 200 metric tonnes as the country seeks to diversify its reserves, according to an estimate from Barclays Plc.
Bullion purchases by the People’s Bank of China in recent months have been very steady, which is “particularly impressive given that China’s total forex reserve has recorded large declines,” analyst Feifei Li said in an e-mailed report. In 2016, buying may average about 17.9 tonnes a month, or 215 tonnes over the full year, she wrote.