China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of gold, cut bullion purchases in July as prices soared to the highest level since 2014 after the UK voted to leave the European Union, Bloomberg reported. The People’s Bank of China increased holdings by 170,000 ounces to 58.79 million ounces, or about 1,829 metric tons, according to the central bank. That was the smallest addition since it started to disclose monthly purchases about a year ago, save for May when it bought nothing. The nation announced last year that its hoard has jumped 57% since 2009. While China has the fifth-biggest stash by country, its holdings make up only 2.3% of total reserves, compared with 76% in the US and 70% in Germany, according to the World Gold Council. The country will continue to diversify its foreign currency reserves because the percentage held in gold is very small, but they’ll also be monitoring the outlook for the dollar, interest rates and gold prices, Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities Asia Ltd., in Hong Kong, said by phone and e-mail Monday.
