BU: SWISS GOLD EXPORTS TO CHINA FALL TO 34 TNS IN NOVEMBER
Switzerland exported 232.2 tonnes of gold in November, according to official Swiss Customs Administration statistics, an increase of 16 percent on the October total and the highest volume this year.
Of those exports, 34.7 tonnes of gold, including gold plated with platinum, in unwrought forms or for non-monetary purposes, was exported to China, down from 42.5 tonnes in the previous month.
Swiss statistics are a good indicator of the volume of metal being shipped into China, which does not publish official figures gold imports.
“As expected, shipments from Switzerland to China were not exceptional. To be sure, the 34.7-tonne flow is decent and in fact is equivalent to about twice the average monthly Swiss shipment to China, but it still reflects an 18-percent decline from October inflows,” UBS Edel Tully said.
Easing demand for physical metal in China has been widely reported in recent weeks, with Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) premiums at $1-2 over spot for 1kg bars, down from $6 in October.
Switzerland sourced most gold from the UK in October, accounting for around 46 percent of total imports of 239.7 tonnes.
“This flow reflects the movement of metal from London vaults into refineries in Switzerland, which had been working at full capacities, to meet demand mostly coming from Asia. India, China and Hong Kong accounted for 63 percent of Switzerland’s exports in November,” Tully added.
Of total exports, 76.9 tonnes of metal were shipped into India, up from 75 tonnes in October.
With total imports of gold into India in October at 151 tonnes, around 50 percent of imports during the country’s busiest period of buying came from Switzerland.
This coincides with the surge in the gold price during October – spot gold hit a low of $1,161 per ounce last month, down from a 2014 peak of $1,388.70.
Turkish imports of gold from Switzerland climbed to 22.8 tonnes in November from five tonnes in the previous month, making the country the fourth-largest importer of gold from Switzerland.
Hong Kong exports from Switzerland also improved to 34.24 tonnes last month from 25 tonnes in the previous month, while exports to Singapore climbed to 16.4 tonnes from nine tonnes.
