(Yicai) Feb. 10 -- The value of gold reserves held by China's central bank soared to a new record proportion to total reserve assets at the end of last month, mainly because of the rising prices of the safe-haven asset.

The People's Bank of China had 73.45 million ounces of gold as of Jan. 31, up from 73.29 million ounces a month earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced on Feb. 7. The value of China's gold reserves jumped by USD15.2 billion to USD206.5 billion, accounting for 5.9 percent of its total reserve assets.

The reserve assets of the PBOC consist of foreign exchange, gold, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights, and others.

International gold prices have been surging since last year. The spot gold price hit an all-time high of USD2,886.80 per ounce on Feb. 7, up 9 percent from the beginning of this year.

There are many reasons for the rising prices of gold, including the US Federal Reserve entering the interest rate cut cycle last September, policy uncertainties after Donald Trump's election as US president, and increasing geopolitical risks, an analyst told Yicai.

Gold prices are expected to continue on a strong note despite some disrupting factors in the short term, Goldman Sachs predicted in a recent research report. The overall trend will show a volatile upward pattern this year and break the USD3,000 per ounce mark, the US investment bank noted.

The PBOC increased its forex reserved by about USD6.7 billion as of Jan. 31 from Dec. 31, remaining above the USD3.2 trillion for the 14th consecutive month, data from the SAFE also showed.

As China continues to diversify its foreign trade products and regions, the resilience of foreign trade strengthens, laying a solid foundation for the overall balance of payments, which will help maintain the stability of forex reserves, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione