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.
Gold-backed ETFs lost 1% of holdings in November following five months of strong inflows
In November, global gold-backed ETFs and similar products saw US$1.3bn of net outflows across North America, Europe and Asia, decreasing their collective gold holdings by 30.1 tonnes(t) after reaching record highs in October. Global gold-backed assets under management (AUM) have grown 35% this year as a result of increased investment demand and price appreciation.
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.
Webinar: Retail gold insights 2019
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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.
