As China continues to cut its US Treasury holdings – reaching a near 17-year low in July as concerns over assets backed by the US dollar mount – analysts said the country’s central bank could be pivoting to European assets and perennial safe haven gold as more reliable investments.
Beijing’s stockpile dropped to US$730.7 billion in July, down US$25.7 billion from June, according to data released by the US Treasury Department on Thursday.
July’s figure was the lowest reported since January 2009, and a 45 per cent plunge from the record US$1.32 trillion recorded in November 2013, according to Chinese financial data provider Wind.
Ding Shuang, chief Greater China economist at Standard Chartered, said while it remains unclear how the People’s Bank of China is specifically allocating its foreign exchange reserves, international investors have been gradually shifting from US dollar-denominated assets to those backed by European…
