The gold market in China remained firm in July

BEIJING (Aug 10)  The latest report from the World Gold Council has noted that Chinese gold demand remained firm as the price of the yellow metal fell recently. Gold is currently trading near $1793/oz when just toward the end of July the price was near $1681/oz.

Looking closer into some of the numbers in the report, total holdings in Chinese gold ETFs saw the largest monthly inflow (9t, US$431mn, RMB3bn) since April 20202. Breaking that down, holdings of Chinese gold ETFs stood at 66t (US$3.8bn, RMB25.3bn) by the end of July. The report said, " the combination of opportunistic buying amid a lower gold price and investors’ lower risk appetite possibly due to the 7% fall in the CSI300 stock index were main drivers of the strongest monthly inflow since April 2020."

Adding to the good news the WGC said "In a traditionally quiet season for gold demand, gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) kept rising, registering the strongest July since 2015."

Wholesale demand also improved. Local manufacturers and banks withdrew 161t of gold from the SGE in July, up by 15% m/m and by 45% y/y.

Lastly imports have managed to move higher as demand improved. The WGC said "China imported 107t gold in June, the highest in five months and significantly above the 2019 pre-pandemic level. The 81t m/m increase was a reflection of the strong rebound in local gold demand that followed the easing of COVID-related restrictions"

Kitco