BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Aug 7 (Reuters) - China's central bank stepped up its gold purchases for a fifth straight month in July, adding the most bullion to its reserves since October 2023, official data showed on Friday.
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The People's Bank of China extended its gold-buying run to a 21st consecutive month, with reserves rising to 76.08 million fine troy ounces at the end of July from 75.44 million a month earlier.
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The 640,000-ounce increase, equivalent to nearly 20 metric tons, was the biggest monthly addition since October 2023, when holdings rose by 740,000 ounces.
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The PBOC added 480,000 ounces in June, which was the biggest monthly gain since October 2023 at the time.
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The pace of purchases has increased each month since March, when the central bank added 160,000 ounces.
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The value of China's gold reserves rose to $306.35 billion at the end of July from $303.72 billion a month earlier, the data showed.
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Gold prices rose 0.84% in July, snapping four consecutive months of declines and the biggest monthly increase since February.
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The gains were supported by softer U.S. inflation data and easing oil prices during the month, which prompted traders to scale back expectations for further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.
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Spot gold was most recently traded above $4,310 per ounce.
Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Liz Lee in Beijing, Dylan Duan in Shanghai. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter
Source: Reuters