UPDATE 1-China's central bank extends gold buying for 11th month

(Adds analyst comments, context from paragraph 3) BEIJING, Oct 7 (Reuters) – China's central bank added gold to its reserves in September for the eleventh straight month, official data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Tuesday. China's gold reserves rose to 74.06 million fine troy ounces at the end of September from 74.02 million ounces at the end of August. Its gold reserves were valued at $283.29 billion at the end of last month, up from $253.84 billion at the end of August, the PBOC said. "A strong figure would reinforce the idea that China is keen to de-dollarize and accelerate its actions in that space," said independent analyst Ross Norman. "Further purchases, even modest ones, will be seen domestically as positive for a price-sensitive market. It may narrow the significant discounts at Loco Shanghai. It will give investors, ETF buyers, and institutions confidence that gold will continue rising." Gold, traditionally seen as a refuge from political and economic uncertainty, has hit multiple record highs so far this year because of uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs, geopolitical conflicts, expectations of interest rate cuts, a broader weakening of the dollar and robust central bank buying. Gold prices climbed above $3,900 per ounce on Monday. In May 2024, the PBOC halted its 18-month-long gold purchasing spree. However, the central bank resumed its gold buying in November 2024. A survey by the World Gold Council (WGC) showed central banks around the world expect gold holdings as a proportion of their reserves to increase over the next five years, while expecting their dollar reserves to be lower. (Reporting by Zhang Yan, Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo, and Anushree Mukherjee and Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Christian Schmollinger)

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