China’s central bank buys gold for 14th consecutive month

China’s central bank continued gold purchases for a 14th straight month, with gold holdings amounting to 74.15 million fine troy ounces at the end of December, from 74.12 million in the previous month.

The value of China’s gold reserves increased to $319.45 billion at the end of last month, from $310.65 billion a month earlier, data from the People’s Bank of China showed on Wednesday.

(By Qiaoyi Li and Ryan Woo; Editing by Bernadette Baum)