Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch points out that the China Gold Association yesterday released its delayed data on the country’s gold demand for Q1–Q3. Total consumption fell 8% year-on-year to 683 tonnes, driven entirely by a 32.5% slump in jewellery demand to 270 tonnes amid steep price increases. With higher taxes on gold jewellery purchases coming into effect on November 1, a recovery in this segment looks unlikely in Q4.
By contrast, demand for bars and coins jumped 24.5% to 352 tonnes—more than half of total gold offtake over the period.
On the official reserves side, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) extended its monthly buying streak into October, but only added about 1 tonne. That brings the central bank’s total purchases over the past 12 months to 40 tonnes—modest compared with other buyers such as the central banks of Poland and Kazakhstan, which have been more active so far this year.