ULAN BATOR, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Mongolia said Thursday that it had purchased 17.7 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals in the first 10 months of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 3 percent.

In October alone, the central bank purchased 3.4 tons of gold, a 34-percent increase against the same month of the last year.

As of October, the central bank's average gold purchase price was 99,911.55 Mongolian tugriks (about 39 U.S. dollars) per gram.

The Bank of Mongolia, which bought 20.01 tons of gold in 2017, aims to buy 22 tons of gold by the end of this year.

The bank launched a five-month campaign in May to encourage gold miners and individuals to sell gold to banks.

In addition, the bank opened one precious metal testing laboratory in the northern province of Darkhan-Uul and another in the southwestern province of Bayankhongor in mid-October in a bid to increase the country's gold reserves.