Gold Reserves: When Will China Catch Up With The US?

Let's see how long it will take for China to be number one in gold reserves.

The latest data (end of 2011) on gold reserves is given below (CNBC):

1. United States: 8,965.6 tonnes
2. Germany: 3,743.7 tonnes
3. IMF: 3,101 tonnes
4. Italy: 2,702.6 tonnes
5. France: 2,684.6 tonnes
6. SPDR Gold ETF GLD: 1,213.9 tonnes
7. China: 1,161.9 tonnes
8. Switzerland: 1,146.5 tonnes
9. Russia: 960.1 tonnes
10. Japan: 843.5 tonnes

We already know China bought approximately 240 tonnes gold since 2012 started. This puts China's gold reserves at 1400 tonnes. If China were to buy more than 100 tonnes of gold each month and if we assume that the United States doesn't increase its gold reserves, China will catch up with the United States in approximately 6 years and 3 months. So in late 2018 China will have the largest gold reserves in the world and at the same time it will have the largest foreign exchange reserves in the world.