Goldhub blog

Dhanteras fails to boost gold sales in October

Summary

• Indian gold imports were 38.3t in October 2019 – 15% lower than the same month last year
• The domestic gold price rose by 3.1% during October, ending the month 22.4% higher than the end of 2018
• With the festival of Dhanteras in October and onset of wedding season in November, the discount in the local market narrowed to US$3/oz by end of October from a discount of US$29.5/oz at end of September
• Late withdrawal of the monsoon, with heavy rainfall in several states of India, damaged the kharif crops and more than 60% of kharif crops traded below the minimum support price (MSP) in October due to high moisture content and little progress in procurement of crops from government.

Central bank demand remains healthy but showing signs of slowing

Our latest central bank data is now available on Goldhub and makes for interesting reading. Looking at the latest statistics on gold, monthly increases (of a tonne or greater) in gold reserves have begun to ease over the past three months. In October, reported net purchases totalled a healthy 41.8t, but this was 16% lower than September (49.6t), which itself was 16% lower than August (59t).

China’s gold market soft in October

• The Shanghai Gold Benchmark price fell slightly in October as the appreciating USDCNY offset the rise in US dollar-denominated gold price. This pushed the local gold price to a discount, the first in 12 months
• Impacted by the weak performances of CNY-denominated gold prices, speculative demand dropped further. Trading volume of Au9999 continued its decline during the month on weaker physical gold demand
• During the first ten months of 2019, China’s gold imports dropped by 41% y-o-y
• Three new gold-backed ETFs were approved in October, raising the total number of gold-backed ETF products in China to seven
• The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) didn’t purchase any gold in October, leaving its gold reserves at 1,948t.

Heated hallmarking debate: the need for trust

I have just come back from a short trip to India, presenting at the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s third India Gold and Jewellery Summit in Delhi, as well as sneaking in some field research and presenting the investment case for gold to some wealth managers in Mumbai with my colleague, Mukesh.

Takeaways from 2019 Beijing International Jewellery Fair

The Beijing International Jewellery Fair kicked off on 14th November, attracting thousands of exhibitors from over 20 different countries and regions. On the coldest day so far this year in Beijing, exhibitors shared the hottest trends in the gold jewellery industry.

Gold’s rising status in the Persian Gulf

The UAE is an important jewellery market in the Middle East: its ten-year average jewellery demand in 2018 at 54.7t, only was second to Saudi Arabia. However, conditions in the UAE have been tough for gold in recent years.

Gold implied and realized volatility fell sharply in October

Gold: thriving on lower interest rates

It’s old news that the world economy is suffering. Ongoing trade tensions between the US China (and elsewhere too), the draining Brexit saga, as well as a myriad of other geopolitical uncertainties, have taken their toll. Global growth is slowing, and investors are downbeat on world economic prospects. Recession in many major economies is now a real possibility... As a result, central banks around the world have been busy cutting rates.

Chinese gold ETFs’ AUM reached all-time high in September while physical demand remains soft

• The Shanghai Gold Benchmark price saw a modest decline in September, with the local gold premium falling sharply due to the stabilising currency and increasing gold imports.
• Led by the declining gold price and the soft physical demand, both Au(T+D) and Au9999’s trading volume dropped last month while loadouts from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) levelled off.
• After hitting the lowest level since 2017 in July, gold imports to China rebounded in August.
• The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) added another 6t to its gold reserves in September. After ten consecutive purchases, the PBoC now holds 1,948t gold in its reserves.

Gold demand in India continues its downward trajectory in September

• Indian gold imports reached just 26.3t in September 2019 – 61% lower than the same month last year.
• The domestic gold price was 2.4% lower in September compared to August, but 18.7% higher y-t-d.
• With weak physical demand, the discount in the local gold market reached a peak of US$55/oz in September, but narrowed to US$29.5/oz by the end of the month.
• Monsoon levels in 2019 are the highest for 25 years; Kharif sowing almost flat y-o-y.

Gold stalls near the $1,500/oz level as bullish positioning retreats

Takeaways from the Responsible Asset Owners Global Symposium

Last week, I was delighted to be asked to speak at the inaugural Responsible Asset Owners Global Symposium in London . More and more investors are – quite rightly – thinking about how to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their investment choices. But there is still a lot of uncertainty about what this means, and in particular, what framework investors should use to assess ESG performance

The Big Short(age of good news)

Yesterday, the International Monetary Fund released their updated World Economic Outlook. And, if investors were looking for any seeds of optimism, may I suggest reading The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama instead?