China's reserves fell to $3.4003tn in September, dragged down by dollar strength after the Fed's latest hike. The PBOC's gold streak kept running: a 23rd straight month of buying, the largest monthly addition since 2023.
Tony Norfield notes China added 23 tonnes of gold in September as prices slipped below $4,200, lifting official holdings to 2,409.6 tonnes, or 8.5% of total reserves. Source
China's foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.4003tn at the end of September, down $38.1bn (1.1%) from August's $3.438tn and below both the Reuters consensus of $3.420tn and the $3.409tn Wall Street Journal economists had pencilled in, according to data the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) released Wednesday as mainland markets stayed shut for Golden Week. SAFE's explanation was mechanical, not alarming: a stronger dollar index and softer prices across major global financial assets marked down the dollar value of reserves held in euros, yen and other non-dollar assets. That is a valuation effect, not capital leaving the country.
