UPDATE 1-China's central bank adds more gold to its reserves in December

(Rewrites through with details and comments) BEIJING, Jan 7 (Reuters) - China's central bank added gold to its reserves in December for a second straight month, following a resumption in November after a six-month hiatus, official data by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Tuesday. China's gold reserves stood at 73.29 million fine troy ounces at the end of December from 72.96 million troy ounces a month earlier. The value of China's gold reserves declined to $191.34 billion at the end of last month from $193.43 billion at the end of November. The PBOC paused its 18-month gold buying spree in May 2024, which had taken a toll on Chinese investor demand. The bank's decision to resume purchases could boost Chinese investor demand. "Given the end of year gold weakness driven by broad dollar strength, and surging yields, additional buying from the PBOC in December should send a comforting message to the market, that demand from non-dollar sensitive buyers continue regardless of dollar and yield headwinds," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. In 2024, the Fed's rate-easing cycle, robust central bank purchases and mounting geopolitical tensions propelled bullion to multiple record highs and a 27% annual gain, its biggest since 2010. China's economy will face many new difficulties and challenges in 2025 and there is ample room for macroeconomic policies, the state planner official Yuan Da said at a news conference on Friday. (Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Ryan Woo in Beijing, Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum) (([email protected];))