In March, the SHAUPM rose by 1.4% while LBMA Gold Price AM fell slightly as the RMB weakened relative to the USD. Although new COVID-19 infections in China remained near zero in March, concerns for the pandemic’s aftermath on the domestic economy linger.
To curb the spread of COVID-19, the global restrictions have impacted the global gold supply chain, from production to refining. These supply-chain disruptions have impacted both bullion and gold dore’ imports into India.
In February, central banks bought a net 36 tonnes (t) of gold, almost a third higher than January’s net purchases, but 52% lower y-o-y. This brings y-t-d net purchases to 64.5t, 44% lower than the 116.1t of net purchases over the first two months of 2019.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak supported demand for gold as a safe-haven asset as stocks and commodities fell sharply. Physical gold demand faltered domestically due to COVID-19 and seasonality factors.
Wedding and stable domestic gold price at ~Rs 37800/10gm helped demand in first half of December but demand tailed off after 15th December after the beginning of inauspicious period and rising gold price which jumped by 3.7% from mid-December till end of the month.
On 25th January 2020, people throughout China will celebrate the start of a new year – the most important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. This will kick off Year of the Rat and begin another rotation of the twelve zodiac signs. Most people are already in a festive mood, and, as a result, so is China’s gold market.
In November, central banks reported adding 27.9 tonnes – on a net basis – to global official gold reserves, 43% lower than October’s increase. On a year-to-date basis, this brings cumulative net purchases to 570.2t, 11% higher the same period in 2018 (515.2t).
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Summary
Summary
