Gold assets in forex reserves may climb

CHINA may raise the proportion of gold in its foreign reserves as its current low allocation can only increase, the London Bullion Market Association said yesterday.

"When comparing China to the US, it would seem that in China, gold asset allocation can only go in one direction," David Gornall, chairman of the London-based association of gold and silver bullion traders, said at a conference in Hong Kong yesterday, according to Bloomberg News. "The country has only 2 percent of its reserves in the form of gold compared with the US at 75 percent."

China's gold reserves have stayed at 1,054 tons since 2009, and it is ranked No. 6 in the world.

The US, Germany, Italy and France all maintain over 70 percent of their foreign reserves in gold while China's share is only 1.8 percent, according to the World Gold Council's data released this month.

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