China's central bank added 4 mt to its gold reserves in October, down from 5 mt added in September, data released by the People's Bank of China showed Tuesday.
Total gold holdings now stand at 1,838 mt, making it the world's sixth-largest holder of gold reserves, according to the International Monetary Fund, behind the US, Germany, the IMF itself, Italy and France.
The PBOC added 5 mt in each month between July and September, with average purchases in 2016 standing at just 8 mt/month, down from an average 17.5 mt/month in 2015.
China began reporting its gold reserves in June 2015 and has since added just over 185 mt, including 80 mt in 2016.
The country is the world's largest consumer and producer of the precious metal, with its central bank second behind only Russia in its gold purchases in recent years.
Russia's central bank added around 20 mt to its gold reserves in September, according to the most recent data, taking total additions to 128 mt for 2016.
Kazakhstan is the only other country with notable additions this year, having added just over 22 mt in 2016 up to August. Turkey and Venezuela have both been net sellers of gold, meanwhile, Turkey releasing up to 60 mt this year and Venezuela around 160 mt, according to IMF and central bank data.
