Summary
- The Shanghai Gold Benchmark price (PM) extended its decline in November. The appreciating USDCNY has again made CNY-denominated gold prices weaker than the dollar gold price, resulting in another drop in local gold premium last month.
- Driven by elevated price volatility, Au(T+D)’s trading volume was higher m-o-m. Meanwhile, the industry’s stocking ahead of the Chinese New Year’s Festival led to a higher Au9999 trading volume and gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in November.
- During the first ten months of 2019, China’s gold imports dropped by 41% y-o-y.
- While some investors have stepped away, Chinese gold ETFs’ gold holdings stabilised around the highest level since last October.
- The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) left its gold reserve unchanged at 1,948t in November.
Gold prices experienced further pull-backs last month. The Shanghai Gold Benchmark (PM) and Au(T+D)’s prices both witnessed declines of 3.7% in November, weaker than the LBMA Gold fixing AM which dropped by 3.2%. The expectation of the Federal Reserve halting any further rate cuts and positive signals for a China-US trade deal were the main factors weighing on gold in November.1