Ray Jia
Research Head, China World Gold CouncilStocking up for Chinese New Year drove wholesale physical gold demand in November
Summary
- The Shanghai Gold Benchmark price (PM) extended its decline in November. The appreciating USDCNY has again made CNY-denominated gold prices weaker than the dollar gold price, resulting in another drop in local gold premium last month.
- Driven by elevated price volatility, Au(T+D)’s trading volume was higher m-o-m. Meanwhile, the industry’s stocking ahead of the Chinese New Year’s Festival led to a higher Au9999 trading volume and gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in November. • During the first ten months of 2019, China’s gold imports dropped by 41% y-o-y.
- While some investors have stepped away, Chinese gold ETFs’ gold holdings stabilised around the highest level since last October.
- The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) left its gold reserve unchanged at 1,948t in November.