China increases gold holdings for 5th straight month

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China's gold reserves rose for a fifth straight month in April, the People's Bank of China, or the central bank, said Tuesday.

Gold reserves stood at 61.1 million ounces in April, up 480,000 ounces month on month.

The reserves were valued at 78.35 billion U.S. dollars at the end of April, compared with 78.53 billion U.S. dollars at the end of March.

While China is the world's biggest producer of gold, its holdings make up a small percentage of its total foreign exchange reserves of more than 3 trillion U.S. dollars.

The United States is the world's biggest owner of gold with more than 8,000 tonnes, followed by Germany with about 3,370 tonnes.