China keeps off gold as forex reserves rise

Reuters and staff reporter

China's foreign exchange reserves rose more than expected in September, official data showed, while the country held back on buying gold for its reserves for a fifth straight month

The country's foreign exchange reserves - the world's largest - grew by US$28.2 billion (HK$220 billion) to US$3.316 trillion last month, compared with a median estimate of US$3.304 trillion in a Reuters poll of analysts, and US$3.288 trillion in August.

Meanwhile, gold holdings remained unchanged at 72.8 million ounces at the end of last month. The value of the gold reserves, however, rose to US$191.47 billion from US$182.98 billion at the end of August.

In Hong Kong, the city's foreign exchange reserves edged down by 0.16 percent to US$422.8 billion last month from a month ago.

Elsewhere, Japan's top currency diplomat yesterday issued a warning against speculative moves on the forex market as the yen fell below 149 per US dollar, the weakest since August 16.

"We will monitor currency market moves including speculative trading with a sense of urgency," Atsushi Mimura told reporters, reviving a verbal warning tactic that his predecessor, Masato Kanda, frequently used.

Separately, the eurozone's annual retail sales rose 0.8 percent in August, official data showed yesterday, missing the market consensus of 1.0 percent rise.