The People's Bank of China has increased its gold holdings for the 17th consecutive month! Industry insiders: Restructuring of strategic assets in commodities, the long-term upward trend of precious metals remains unchanged.

Ask AI · Why can the central bank’s gold purchases keep going for 17 straight months?

The U.S. and Iran agree to a ceasefire for two weeks, and market sentiment has been boosted significantly! In the early trading session on April 8, China’s A-share nonferrous metals sector surged across the board, with Western Mining Resources hitting the daily limit; Shan Jin International, Chifeng Gold, Hunan Gold, Zijin Mining Shares and others also followed higher.

招商有色矿业ETF（159690） jumped 4.41%. Previously, the nonferrous metals sector fluctuated and pulled back; funds continued to take the ETF route to build positions against the trend. According to market data, over the past 20 trading days, 招商有色矿业ETF（159690） saw total net inflows of more than RMB 180 million.

On commodity prices, gold spot rose more than 2% to trade above $4,800; silver spot rose nearly 7%. LME tin rose more than 4.39%, last at $47,975/ton; LME copper rose 2.64%, last at $12,637.5/ton. Prices of metals including zinc, lead, nickel, and aluminum all climbed across the board.

Data from the People’s Bank of China shows that China’s gold reserves were 74.38 million ounces at the end of March, versus 74.22 million ounces at the end of February—marking the 17th consecutive month of adding to gold.

A research report from China International Capital Corporation (CICC) believes that the current Middle East geopolitical situation may be moving through a critical window period. Oil prices face a decision between upside and downside, and the pricing focus in the gold market may shift toward assessing supply shocks. Any interest-rate-hike expectations that have already been priced in may still need to be revised. Looking ahead, the firm says that regardless of whether oil prices pull back after a downgrade in geopolitics, monetary policy returns to a path toward easing, supply shocks intensify recession pressure, and trigger a clearer display of gold’s hedging value, there is room for both gold investment demand and prices to recover upward.

Shenyin Wanguo Futures stated that as the U.S.-Iran conflict eases, factors suppressing precious metals are alleviating. From a medium- to long-term perspective, the center of gravity for precious metals prices will continue to rise. On one hand, the center of gravity for geopolitical risk is being raised, and the reconfiguration of the global political and economic order is still ongoing; on the other hand, concerns about the sustainability of U.S. fiscal policy are still intensifying in the market. The de-dollarization process will continue to advance, and global central banks will keep increasing gold reserves. The long-term upward trend for gold remains unchanged. Silver, platinum, and palladium’s industrial attributes and financial attributes are converging in their effects—tracking the broader sector’s trend, but with a relatively larger volatility range.

招商有色矿业ETF（159690） fund manager Wang Ningyuan believes that the nonferrous metals logic is in the process of reconstructing cycle-based bulk commodities into strategic assets under the restructuring of the international order. In the long run, it will still benefit from U.S. reindustrialization, electricity-supply demand driven by an AI boom, and supply-chain restructuring amid geopolitical games; energy metals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt benefit from the policy direction of “anti-overcompetition,” and from the deepening of international energy transition; strategic metals tungsten and rare earths benefit from the rigidity of resource endowments, global export controls, and the fading of international security order.

招商有色矿业ETF（159690） tracks the nonferrous metals index, which is highly concentrated on the very upstream of the nonferrous metals industrial chain—mine resource extraction. As of March 31, the combined weight of copper + gold + rare earths + aluminum was nearly 65% (according to the Shenwan 3rd-level industry classification). As of the latest available data, over the past three years the nonferrous metals mining index has accumulated gains of more than 81%, outperforming mainstream nonferrous indices.

Risk warning: Funds involve risk; invest cautiously.