China thought to be stockpiling gold to cut greenback dependence

Nikkei Asia/Munemasa Horio/11-22-2022

“Central banks are snapping up gold this year, but it is uncertain which ones are behind most of that shopping spree, fueling speculation that China is a big player. Seeing how Russia has been hit by monetary sanctions by the West, China and some other countries must be hurrying to reduce dependence on the dollar, analysts reckon.”

USAGOLD note: Since the World Gold Council reported recently that it could not identify the source for 300 tonnes in official sector gold demand, speculation has been rife as to who the whale might be. Opinion is now beginning to coalesce around China as the buyer in question and Russia as the seller, according to this Nikkei Asia report. The newspaper points out that China sold U.S. Treasuries to the tune of $121.2 billion so far this year – “the equivalent of roughly 2,200 tonnes of gold.”