SHANGHAI, Oct 7 Reuters China39;s central bank held back on buying gold for its reserves for a fifth straight month in September, official data showed on Monday, mainly due to a surge in prices for the yellow metal.

China39;s gold holdings stood at 72.8 million troy ounces at the end of last month. The value of the gold reserves, however, rose to 191.47 billion from 182.98 billion at the end of August.

Gold prices have risen around 28 so far this year heading for the biggest annual gain in 14 years underpinned by the start of U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, geopolitical tensions and robust demand from central banks.

Global central banks, which actively bought gold in 20222023, are on track to slow purchases in 2024 from 2023, according to the World Gold Council, but to keep them above the pre2022 level.

This is partly due to the pause in purchases by the People39;s Bank of China PBOC, which until May had bought gold for 18 consecutive months.

The central bank was the world39;s largest official sector buyer of gold in 2023 and its decision to put its buying on hold muted Chinese investor demand in recent months.

With higher gold prices, the PBOC continues to pause from new purchases. We believe the central bank would like more gold but is waiting for a more attractive entry point, said WisdomTree commodity strategist Nitesh Shah.

However, with global interest rates falling and geopolitical tensions rising, it looks like they may have to wait for some…