China gold reserves apparently doubled

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China has added to its gold reserves and now holds 1,054 metric tons of the yellow metal, according to a Friday report by the Xinhua News Agency, which cited comment by Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Hu said that China's gold reserves had risen by 454 metric tons since 2003 and that the total was being reported to the International Monetary Fund as per the organization's rules.

A Dow Jones Newswire report said the figure cited was nearly double China's reported gold reserves as of the end of last month, but noted that it wasn't clear which gold reserves Hu was referring to.

She said China's gold reserves now rank fifth in the world among nations which publicly disclose their holdings.

Analysts said China bullion buying reflects efforts to diversify their nearly $2 trillion stockpile of foreign exchange reserves.

"Chinese officials have been increasingly vocal about their concern on the U.S. dollar and the U.S. bailout policies of late, and have actively been seeking to diversify into other assets, especially commodities," said Martin Hennecke, an associate director with Tyche Group in Hong Kong.

Spot gold prices were up 0.9% to $912.20 an ounce in late Tokyo trading hours Friday.

In separate release Friday, China reported it foreign exchange reserves totaled $1.954 trillion at end of March, up from $1.946 trillion at the end of last year.