The two largest gold consuming countries have been sending very different signals recently. While India reported a significant increase in gold imports in August, China’s gold imports plummeted, notes Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank.
Gold demand in India likely to decline
“According to the World Gold Council, India imported 140 tonnes of gold, which was three times more than in the previous month and, according to central bank data, the most in 3½ years. The increase in imports was caused by “the sharp reduction in the import tax from 15 percent to 6 percent, which apparently more than offset the price increase.”
“In addition, purchases may have been brought forward in anticipation of the festival and wedding season. In China, the significant increase in prices visibly dampened demand. According to data from Hong Kong’s statistics department, China’s net gold imports from Hong Kong fell 76% to just over 6 tonnes in August. The last time they were lower was in April 2022, when coronavirus lockdowns affected gold demand and imports in China.
“Switzerland did not export any Gold to China at all in August, the Swiss Federal Customs Administration reported last week. By contrast, Swiss Gold exports to India rose sharply. However, given the record local price, “Gold demand there is also likely to decline as soon as the effect of the tax reduction wears off.”
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
