China gold imports up sharply, country set to become world’s biggest user of bullion

Gold imports to China from Hong Kong were up 59% in March, according to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.

Exports to China were 135.53 tonnes for the first three months of this year, up from 19.7 tonnes a year ago.

Analysts use import data from Hong Kong census department to gauge overall gold demand in China.

World Gold Council is projecting that China may become the world’s biggest user of gold.

Lawrence Williams at Mineweb wonders if gold is being used by China to reduce its central bank’s overweighting of US dollars.

“If historical precedent is being followed, a significant proportion of Chinese government-held gold may be being held in a secondary account which is not reported in the official reserve figures,” writes Williams.

Gold has not had a good week. Since the leadership changes in Europe over the weekend, gold has been off 2.49% to $1,601.29/oz.

Gold has moved sideways since the start of the year. It spiked at $1,783.93/oz in late February but has since slid to about the same price it started in January.

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