CX Briefing: Gold Becomes World’s Second-Largest Reserve Asset

A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:

Gold keeps glitting: Gold is now bigger than the euro, at least when it comes to the make-up of assets countries hold as foreign reserves. A European Central Bank report released Wednesday showed that due to the surging price of the precious metal, it made up 20% of global foreign reserves at the end of last year, blowing past the euro’s 16%. Central bank purchases have fueled the run-up in gold prices. The institutions added over 1,000 tons to their gold hoards in 2024. Countries such as China, India and Turkey are buying gold to diversify their portfolios and hedge against economic and geopolitical risks. China recently increased its gold reserves for the seventh straight month, though the size of its purchases has tapered off since March.