China Net Gold Import 1,212t Jan – Nov

Jon Blogosphere, Geopolitics, Gold, Market Commentary, Precious Metals

Withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) – currently the best indicator of Chinese wholesale demand – keep up a strong pace.
In week 48 (November 24 – 28) SGE withdrawals accounted for 54 tonnes, year to date 1,867 tonnes have been withdrawn.

Corrected by the trading volume of the SGE contracts that are available for foreign traders (to take delivery, withdrawal from the vaults and export from the Shanghai Free Trade Zone), the weekly withdrawals in the mainland were 46 tonnes at minimum in week 48; year to date the bottom limit is at 1,841 tonnes.
Putting 1,841 tonnes in our basic equation (import = SGE withdrawals – scrap – mine), we can estimate mainland China has net imported 1,212 tonnes of gold up until November 28. Seasonally December and January are the strongest months for Chinese demand; I wouldn’t be surprised if total Chinese net gold import reaches 1,350 tonnes in 2014.

This post was published at Bullion Star on 8 Dec 2014.