中國暗示擴大黃金購買意願有限
【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.
【中文譯文】
中國暗示擴大黃金購買意願有限
中國國家外匯管理局局長易綱暗示，中國對於進一步擴大黃金購買量的意願或許有限，並就中國作爲美國國債投資國的問題發表了安撫性言論。
易綱說，黃金是不錯的資產，但目前要從外匯儲備的層面增持黃金，還受到幾方面限制。他表示，由於價格波動，黃金並不會帶來很好的長期回報。
中國向來很少披露有關其外匯儲備投資的想法，中國外匯儲備規模高達2.4萬億美元，位居世界之冠。自全球金融危機以來，中國的黃金資產問題倍受關注，因美元的走勢促使外管局以外的學者和官員提議中國外匯儲備投資應更加多元化。
易綱在全國人大新聞發佈會上說，雖然中國1,054噸的黃金儲備位居世界第五，但以目前的價格，其只佔中國外匯儲備的一小部分。根據去年年底的資產數據，黃金儲備以當前價格計約佔中國外匯儲備的1.5%。
在人們對中國政府對美國國債的投資興趣日益感到擔憂之際，易綱說，中國持有美國國債可以實現互利雙贏。中國每天都在買進賣出美國國債，中方希望不要把這樣的交易政治化。他重申，在投資美國國債方面，中國是負責任的投資者。
易綱指出，過去30年顯示黃金的投資收益並不是很好，考慮中國是黃金的重要買家，中國的任何購買行爲肯定都會推動金價上漲。
中國的黃金儲備問題得到了外界的普遍關注。2009年4月，當中國突然承認黃金儲備量自2003年以來已增加了454噸、達到1,054噸時，金價應聲上漲。上個月金價再次出現短暫波動，因爲某家不知名網站發表了一篇失實報導，稱中國正在討論從國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)購買黃金。
世界黃金協會(World Gold Council)提供的數據顯示，中國是全球最大的黃金生產國以及僅次於印度的第二大黃金消費國。易綱說，中國黃金的年產量約爲300噸，年消費量約爲400噸；估計中國私人持有的黃金規模超過了3000噸。
易綱週二此番講話對黃金現貨市場影響甚微。紐約商交所Comex三月黃金期貨合約結算價下跌1.60美元，至每盎司1,122美元，跌幅0.14%。
三井物產(Mitsui)駐香港的貴金屬業務主管Anderson Cheung說，市場對中國的黃金儲備計劃非常敏感，但金價走勢平穩，而且沒有人真的認爲中國會將自己的打算公諸於衆。
身兼中國央行副行長的易綱承認中國正在研究是否爲擁有3,000億美元資本的主權投資基金中投公司(China Investment Corp.)追加資本，但他指出，中國政府希望讓私人投資者在海外投資中發揮更大作用。
