ABU DHABI - The Central Bank of the UAE's gold reserve amounted to AED5.31 billion in January from AED 4.04bn in December 2019.

The growth, the highest in several months, comes in line with the recent steady hikes in the yellow metal to $1650 per ounce, securing one year gains of 32 pct.

Statistics issued by the apex bank showed that its reserves of gold grew exponentially since 2015, which is the year when it decided to resume its reserves of gold and foreign currencies, most notably the US dollar and other major currencies.

According to the figures, the value of the gold bullions has been improving over the past months, hitting AED2.71 bn in September 2019 before surging to AED3.63 bn by the end of November.

The CBUAE's reserve of gold bullions amounted to AED1.134 bn by the end of 2018.

In 2015, the UAE decided to resume its reserves of gold and foreign currencies, after it dropped out from the World Gold Councils list of gold reserves at world banks, and since then the value of the yellow metal increased consistently.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.