China's 22-Month Gold Buying Spree Fuels Renminbi Ambitions
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has continued its record-breaking gold buying spree, adding 20.2 metric tons to official reserves in August, extending an uninterrupted buying streak to 22 consecutive months.
This historic accumulation run coincides with a deep reduction in China's holdings of US government debt, which have fallen to an 18-year low. The paired rotation out of dollar-denominated Treasuries and into physical gold makes plain that this is no opportunistic market trade, but rather a deliberate, structural overhaul of China's foreign reserve portfolio.
The PBOC has added over 76 million troy ounces of gold to its reserves since the buying streak began, with the central bank showing no signs of tapping the brakes on its accumulation run despite bullion trading near all-time highs.