South Korea adds to gold reserves

South Korea has bought gold for the first time in over a decade, the country's central bank said yesterday, reflecting the diminishing clout of US dollar and growing concern about inflation across the world economy.

The Bank of Korea said it had spent $1.24bn buying 25 tonnes of the yellow metal in the past two months, pushing the country's total gold holdings to 39.4 tonnes.

South Korea still lags behind others in the region, however, with China holding 1,054.1 tonnes at the end of May, according to the World Gold Council. Japan has 765.2 tonnes, while India holds 557.7 tonnes, equating to 8.7 per cent of its total reserves.