China offered a rare peek into its financial system on Friday, releasing an update on its gold reserves for the first time in six years.
At the end of June, China’s gold holdings totaled 53.32 million troy ounces, up 57% from the end of April 2009, the last time the People’s Bank of China reported reserves.
China’s hoard puts it in the top five for government holdings of the precious metal. The U.S. has 261.5 million ounces of gold, followed by Germany, Italy and France, based on data from the International Monetary Fund. China now eclipses Russia and Switzerland in terms of reserves.
Gold futures prices fell to a five-year low Friday, as stronger economic data boosted investors’ expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in 2015. The precious metal doesn’t pay interest or dividends and would struggle to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates climb. The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, fell $12, or 1%, to $1,131.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since April 1, 2010.
