China’s central bank held back on buying gold for its reserves for a fourth straight month in August, official data showed on Saturday. China’s gold holdings stood at 72.8 million fine troy ounces at the end of last month. The value of the gold reserves, however, rose to $182.98 billion compared with $176.64 billion at the end of July. Gold prices have been rising this year amid bets that U.S. rate cuts are imminent and due to safe-haven demand driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, with central banks making robust purchases. Gold prices have surged 21% so far this year and are hovering slightly below a record high of $2,531.60 hit on Aug. 20. Prior to the pause in its purchases, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) had bought gold for 18 consecutive months.