China’s private investor gold surge seen as strong signal

The 30% rise in China’s private investor gold demand in the first three months of this year is seen as ‘a very strong signal’ by World Gold Council member and market relations head John Mulligan, who views this market as being one of good potential ongoing growth.
The rise in China’s private investor gold bar and coin demand to 106 t was the main contributor to a 9%-higher overall global retail investment market demand rise to 289.8 t, which is worth more than $11-billion.
Playing a role in strengthening demand in China were local premiums at a level of more than $14/oz above the global spot price of gold.
But despite the demand surge, per capita investment in gold in China remains low, and Mulligan sees Chinese demand as a staying trend over the longer term.
Also important is the ongoing strength of European gold demand of 61 t in the three months to the end of March, which was 9% up on the first quarter of 2016.

This post was published at Mining Weekly