Saudi Arabia did not buy new gold reserves in 2010 despite data from the World Gold Council (WGC) that showed the kingdom had doubled its reserves during the first-quarter, the central bank governor said on Sunday.

We did not buy new gold, this was just a merge and reclassifying assets, this gold was under different accounts and was brought under one account,' Muhammad al-Jasser told Reuters declining to give more details.

In June, the WGC data indicated that Saudi Arabia lifted its reported reserves to 322.9 tonnes from 143 tonnes, making it the world's sixteenth-largest holder of gold.

Gold prices have risen more than 15 per cent this year to record highs as concern over sovereign and financial market risk, low interest rates and fears of inflation further down the line boosted investment in the precious metal.-Reuters