BEIJING — China's gold reserves rose for an eighth straight month in July, the central bank said on Aug 7.

Gold reserves stood at 62.26 million ounces in July, up 320,000 ounces month-on-month, data from the People's Bank of China showed.

The reserves were valued at $88.88 billion at the end of July, compared with $87.27 billion at the end of June.

As the world's biggest producer and main consumer of gold, China's holdings of gold make up a small percentage of its total foreign exchange reserves.

The central bank has been increasing its gold reserves on a monthly basis starting in December 2018, PBOC data showed.

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at $3.1 trillion at the end of July, official data showed.

Net gold purchases by global central banks reached 374.1 tons in H1, the largest net increase in global official gold reserves on record, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).

More central banks of emerging markets are accumulating gold reserves at a steady pace, the WGC reported.