中国暗示扩大黄金购买意愿有限

【英文原文】

Beijing Cools To Gold, Reassures On Treasurys

China's chief foreign-exchange regulator suggested the country's appetite for further gold purchases may be limited and offered soothing words about China's role as an investor in U.S. Treasurys.

'Gold is not a bad asset, but currently a few factors limit our ability to increase foreign-exchange investment in gold,' said Yi Gang, director of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange. He said gold doesn't offer good long-term returns because of price swings.

China rarely reveals its thinking on investment of its foreign-exchange reserves, which at $2.4 trillion are the world's largest. The issue of its gold holdings has been highlighted since the global financial crisis, as the dollar's movements have prompted academics and officials outside SAFE to recommend more diversification of China's reserves.

Mr. Yi, at a news conference during the National People's Congress, the annual legislative session, said that while China's gold reserves, at 1,054 metric tons, are the fifth-largest in the world, the holdings, at current prices, are only a small part of its foreign-exchange reserves. Based on data on holdings at the end of last year, gold represented about 1.5% of China's foreign-exchange reserves at current prices.

Amid continuing jitters about Beijing's appetite for U.S. debt, Mr. Yi also said China holding Treasurys can be mutually beneficial for China and the U.S. China buys and sells U.S. Treasurys on a daily basis and Beijing doesn't want such trading to be politicized, Mr. Yi said. He reiterated that China will be a 'responsible investor' in Treasurys.

Mr. Yi said the past 30 years have shown that the return on gold hasn't been great and that given China's heft as a gold buyer, any move it makes to purchase the precious metal would 'certainly' increase gold prices.

China's gold holdings are widely watched. In April 2009, gold prices rallied when China suddenly acknowledged its gold reserves had risen by 454 metric tons since 2003, to 1,054 tons. Last month, gold prices swung briefly again on an inaccurate report on a little-known Web site that said China was in talks to buy gold from the International Monetary Fund.

China is the world's largest producer of gold and the second-largest consumer behind India, based on data from the World Gold Council. Its annual gold output is about 300 tons, and it consumes about 400 tons on an annual basis, Mr. Yi said. Private holdings of gold by Chinese individuals have been estimated at more than 3,000 tons, he said.

Mr. Yi's remarkshad little effect on Tuesday spot trading of gold, which fell $1.60, or 0.14%, to $1,122 an ounce in New York.

'The market is sensitive to what China plans for its reserves. But gold is quiet, and nobody really expects China to announce their plans,' says Anderson Cheung, director of precious metals at Mitsui in Hong Kong.

Mr. Yi, a vice governor of the People's Bank of China, acknowledged that China is studying whether to inject more capital into China Investment Corp., its $300 billion sovereign-wealth fund, but said Beijing aims to let private investors play a larger role in overseas investment.

【中文译文】

中国暗示扩大黄金购买意愿有限

中国国家外汇管理局局长易纲暗示，中国对于进一步扩大黄金购买量的意愿或许有限，并就中国作为美国国债投资国的问题发表了安抚性言论。

易纲说，黄金是不错的资产，但目前要从外汇储备的层面增持黄金，还受到几方面限制。他表示，由于价格波动，黄金并不会带来很好的长期回报。

中国向来很少披露有关其外汇储备投资的想法，中国外汇储备规模高达2.4万亿美元，位居世界之冠。自全球金融危机以来，中国的黄金资产问题倍受关注，因美元的走势促使外管局以外的学者和官员提议中国外汇储备投资应更加多元化。

易纲在全国人大新闻发布会上说，虽然中国1,054吨的黄金储备位居世界第五，但以目前的价格，其只占中国外汇储备的一小部分。根据去年年底的资产数据，黄金储备以当前价格计约占中国外汇储备的1.5%。

在人们对中国政府对美国国债的投资兴趣日益感到担忧之际，易纲说，中国持有美国国债可以实现互利双赢。中国每天都在买进卖出美国国债，中方希望不要把这样的交易政治化。他重申，在投资美国国债方面，中国是负责任的投资者。

易纲指出，过去30年显示黄金的投资收益并不是很好，考虑中国是黄金的重要买家，中国的任何购买行为肯定都会推动金价上涨。

中国的黄金储备问题得到了外界的普遍关注。2009年4月，当中国突然承认黄金储备量自2003年以来已增加了454吨、达到1,054吨时，金价应声上涨。上个月金价再次出现短暂波动，因为某家不知名网站发表了一篇失实报导，称中国正在讨论从国际货币基金组织(IMF)购买黄金。

世界黄金协会(World Gold Council)提供的数据显示，中国是全球最大的黄金生产国以及仅次于印度的第二大黄金消费国。易纲说，中国黄金的年产量约为300吨，年消费量约为400吨；估计中国私人持有的黄金规模超过了3000吨。

易纲周二此番讲话对黄金现货市场影响甚微。纽约商交所Comex三月黄金期货合约结算价下跌1.60美元，至每盎司1,122美元，跌幅0.14%。

三井物产(Mitsui)驻香港的贵金属业务主管Anderson Cheung说，市场对中国的黄金储备计划非常敏感，但金价走势平稳，而且没有人真的认为中国会将自己的打算公诸于众。

身兼中国央行副行长的易纲承认中国正在研究是否为拥有3,000亿美元资本的主权投资基金中投公司(China Investment Corp.)追加资本，但他指出，中国政府希望让私人投资者在海外投资中发挥更大作用。