Dutch gold reserves up

SINGAPORE: The Netherlands raised its gold holdings for the first time in 16 years in December, while Russia extended its buying spree of the precious metal to a ninth straight month, data from the International Monetary Fund showed on Tuesday.
The Netherlands, with the ninth-biggest gold reserves, raised its holdings by 9.61 tons to 622.08 tons last month, the first increase since December, 1998. The Dutch central bank’s holdings have been unchanged since late 2008.
Central bank buying and selling can have a significant influence on gold prices. Central banks became net buyers in 2010 after two decades as net sellers, driven by an increased interest in gold in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis.
Gold prices rose nearly 1 percent in December, the first monthly rise in five, possibly on support from central bank purchases.
“It has been the emerging market central banks that have been doing the buying over the past few years, so it is encouraging for gold markets to see the Dutch additions,” said Victor Thianpiriya, an analyst with ANZ in Singapore.