BEIJING, July 17 -- China's gold reserves rose nearly 60 percent to 1,658 tonnes at the end of June from the previous figure released the end of April 2009, when the amount was 1,054 tonnes.

Gold prices have retreated from a historic high in recent years and the central bank gradually accumulated the reserves through various channels, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Friday.

The channels include domestic scrap gold, production storage and trade in domestic and overseas markets.

China is the world's largest gold producer and a major consumer.