People's Bank of China continued gold purchases for seventh consecutive month in May

According to official statistics, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) built up its gold reserves for the seventh month in a row in May. Despite ongoing fluctuations in the price of the yellow metal, the regulator continued to diversify its national reserves.

In the previous month, the Chinese central bank added 60,000 troy ounces of gold to its inventory, bringing its total holdings to 73.83 million troy ounces.

The price of the precious metal peaked in April, supported by large purchases from central banks, as reported by Bloomberg. Authorities in many countries are now looking to diversify their reserves to lessen their reliance on the US dollar. Such operations, including those carried out by the PBOC, are considered as key support for future gold prices. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimate that sovereign wealth funds are acquiring around 80 tons of gold each month, which equates to approximately $8.5 billion at current prices.

Gold's surge is also being driven by investor interest in safe-havens amid trade tensions raising concerns about the reliability of US assets.