What are your thoughts about China being one of the worlds main gold producing and consuming nation wanting to become a major player in gold market pricing. Apparently the People's Bank of China has given permission to build an international gold trading platform in Shanghai. Some banks, including HSBC, were invited to participate in a new international board. According to the Shanghai Gold Exchange website, "Shanghai Gold exchange (SGE thereafter), approved by the State Council and founded by the People's Bank of China, performs the regulated functions stipulated by Management Rules of Gold Exchange and organizes gold transactions with the principle of openness, fairness, justness and honesty". Source: http://www.ingoldwetrust.ch/shanghai-gold-exchange-international-board-another-blow-to-us-dollar
China: Higher 2013 gold demand and import figures now confirmed China's 2014 Gold yearbook states that Chinese gold demand last year came to 2,199 tonnes of which imports were 1,524 tonnes. Author: Lawrence Williams Posted: Wednesday , 22 Oct 2014 http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-asia?oid=257520&sn=Detail LONDON (Mineweb) - Once again it has taken Koos Jansen to let the world know what the real figures for Chinese gold demand and gold import figures were for last year. The data was actually published in Mandarin Chinese in September with the release of the 2014 China Gold yearbook by the China Gold Association yet none of the mainstream Western media seems to employ anyone who reads Chinese, or at least no one who does who may be asked to cover gold. The yearbook was apparently made available at the Beijing China Gold Congress that month. China does seem to be adept at muddying the waters on gold demand and imports though. Earlier in the year the China Gold Association itself said in a statement in English that China's gold demand was only 1,176 tonnes in 2013 a figure we queried at the time as that was remarkably close to known Hong Kong gold import figures for the year. The World Gold Council didn't help with its own assessment at 1,066 tonnes again a figure we queried at the time. After all we know China mined around 430 tonnes of gold and that there will have been scrap supplies as well as gold imports through ports other than Hong Kong. These figures, which most western analysts will have relied upon in their assessments of global gold supply and demand, were patently too low. Now, in the China Gold Yearbook we learn via Koos Jansen's blog on bullionstar.com that Chinese wholesale demand was 2,199 tonnes in 2013 and this is further broken down into imports of 1,524 tonnes (in direct gold imports plus gold contained in dor bullion coming in from overseas mines), and China's own mine production of 428 tonnes, leaving a balance of around 247 tonnes which must have come from gold scrap and recycling. We have already been reporting that, based on China's Shanghai Gold Exchange weekly withdrawal figures, the country's gold demand this year looks to be heading for close to 1,900-2,000 tonnes a fall of perhaps around 10-15%, far short of some of the big decline figures quoted by non-gold-savvy media wonks. It remains to be seen whether these higher figures start to appear in some of the research reports prepared by the gold supply/demand specialist analysts or is that too much to hope for? It should also be pointed out that these Chinese gold demand and import figures do not include bullion that may, or may not, be being purchased by Chinese government agencies and which many western analysts will be used to boost reported Chinese gold reserves to be announced to the IMF and the world at a time when it suits the Chinese to do so. Some suggest that China is in fact building its reserves so as to exceed the US's reported 8,133.5 tonnes held in Fed vaults and will report them when it has exceeded that target but with the Chinese who knows? If they are building reserves surreptitiously no-one is saying! http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-asia?oid=257520&sn=Detail
