(Minews) - China Gold production and imports are seen rising in the first three quarters of 2014 even as consumption bars and coins for investment is falling.
The views were expressed at the 9th China Gold and Precious Metals Summit 2014, jointly endorsed by the China Gold Association, the Shanghai Gold Exchange and organised by IGVision International Corporation held on Dec and 4, 2014.
As regards the concerns over the Chinese gold demand, chairman of the Shanghai Gold Exchange Xu Luode told the conference that the gold market in 2014 is still a CHINA YEAR. According to the China Gold Association, Chinese gold output stood at 428 tonnes in 2013. The country's gold production in the first three quarters of 2014 has achieved a 15% year-on-year increase however, which implies China is bound to produce more gold than the previous year. Also, China has imported over 1,100 tonnes of gold by November this year and the whole year's bullion import is estimated to reach 1,200 - 1,300 tonnes, a number only next to the year of 2013.
Meanwhile, president of the China Gold Association & general manager of China National Gold Group Corp. Song Xin said, with China surpassing India as the biggest gold consuming nation in the world, China has become the world's top producer, consumer, importer and fabricator of the precious metal. Since the beginning of 2014, China's jewellery demand for gold is still rising steadily despite a fall in the consumption of investment bars and coins.
Convening nearly 250 top professionals from mining companies, refiners, central banks, bullion banks, mints, exchanges, bullion dealers, trading houses, brokerage firms, jewelers, money managers, consultancies, service providers, trade associations, and policymakers, the event highlighted metal prices, supply/demand picture, investor sentiment, mining strategy, monetary policy trends, Chinese and Indian physical gold demand, and global macroeconomic environment in the context of a lower price environment, muted physical gold buying out of Asia, a remaining risk of ETP liquidation, a strengthening U.S. dollar and U.S. recovery, a looming rate hike by the Fed and potentially looser ECB policy.
