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There’s been lots of news about China, India, and gold in recent
days as imports, investment demand, and prices are all soaring now that the
locals see consumer prices rising and look for ways to protect themselves
from further depreciation of the currency. Depending on whether you read this
Bloomberg report or
this Reuters story,
Chinese gold imports have increased five- or six-fold during the first ten
months of the year. First, from Bloomberg:
Gold Imports by China Soar Almost Fivefold
China’s gold imports jumped almost fivefold in the first 10
months from the entire amount shipped in last year as concern about rising
inflation increased its appeal as a store of value, said the Shanghai Gold
Exchange.
Imports gained to 209 metric tons compared to 45 tons for all of 2009,
Shen Xiangrong, chairman
of the bourse, told a conference in Shanghai. China, the world’s
largest producer and second-biggest user, doesn’t regularly publish
gold-trade figures and rarely comments on its reserves.
And from Reuters:
China gold imports soar six-fold on investment demand
Investors’ rapidly-growing appetite for gold has pushed up
China’s gold imports six-fold in the first 10 months of the year, a
Shanghai Gold Exchange official said on Thursday, highlighting the appeal of
the precious metal as a hedging tool.
In a rare revelation of China’s gold trade data, which is not
published by customs, exchange chairman Shen Xiangrong said the country imported 209.72 tonnes of gold in the first ten months of the year.
It looks as though both reports might be correct since they are
comparing the first ten months in 2010 to two different time periods in 2009
– the full year in the first and, presumably, just the first ten months
in the second. However you calculate the increase, that’s a lot of gold
to be importing for
the world’s number one gold producer.
Tim IaconoIacono Research.com
Tim
Iacono is the founder of Iacono Research which provides market commentary and
investment advisory services specializing in macroeconomic analysis and
commodity based investing. He also writes the popular blog The Mess That Greenspan Made.
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