China added more gold to its reserves in December, bringing its total purchases in the second half of 2015 to more than 100 t, with analysts predicting the country will continue purchasing at a similar pace this year. More purchases by the world’s sixth largest official sector gold holder could lend support to international prices of the precious metal, which are currently near nine-week highs amid a global stock market rout, worries over the Chinese economy and heightened geopolitical tensions.
