China spends record amount importing over 1,000 tonnes of gold this year

{"text":[[{"start":8.44,"text":"China has spent a record sum importing more than 1,000 tonnes of gold this year as the central bank and local investors pour cash into bullion amid rising geopolitical tensions abroad and poor returns on local assets."}],[{"start":21.92,"text":"The world’s second-largest economy spent $158.8bn on gold in the first eight months of the year. That compared with spending of $96.5bn for all of 2025 on 886 tonnes of gold."}],[{"start":36.2,"text":"The jump comes after China reined in gold purchases last year during an intense rally that sent bullion prices soaring from about $2,625 a troy ounce at the start of 2025 to a peak of $5,595 in January."}],[{"start":52.36,"text":"China is also the world’s biggest producer of bullion, with the total for last year standing at 384 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":60.96,"text":"There are signs that Chinese investors are increasing gold purchases as part of broader efforts to diversify their assets. Chinese holdings of US Treasuries fell to $618bn in July — the lowest level since August 2008."}],[{"start":75.1,"text":"“Both the central bank and private investors are diversifying their reserves and savings towards an asset with no counterparty risk, as part of a broader long-term wealth preservation strategy,” said Lisa Liu, managing director at Gold Mountains Asset Management, part of Zijin Mining Group — China’s largest gold miner."}],[{"start":92.96,"text":"Domestic investment options in China are more limited since the country’s property market began collapsing in 2021. The benchmark CSI 300 index is down 1.8 per cent for the year and is still more than a fifth below its peak in early 2021. Meanwhile, yields on Chinese government bonds are close to record lows."}],[{"start":112.56,"text":"“This isn’t a short-term trade, it’s a multiyear repositioning of household and official assets. The scale and persistence of Chinese buying is now a core driver of global gold prices and we expect it to hold as long as uncertainty over growth and geopolitics remains,” said Liu."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":129.04,"text":"Gold is becoming an increasingly important diversifier for global investors at a time when government bonds no longer move inversely to stock markets."}],[{"start":136.6,"text":"Christopher Hamilton, Invesco’s head of client solutions for Asia Pacific ex-Japan, said gold prices had ceased to behave as they did during periods of rising real yields, which in the past caused gold prices to drop. “You’re in an environment where you want to own real assets,” he said."}],[{"start":153.84,"text":"Institutional purchases were still the most significant driver of the gold price, Hamilton said."}],[{"start":159.32,"text":"The People’s Bank of China purchases more gold than its official disclosures indicate, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs."}],[{"start":165.64,"text":"In a note earlier this month, they estimated that the Chinese central bank bought 35 tonnes of gold in July — considerably higher than its officially stated amount of 20 tonnes."}],[{"start":174.92,"text":"China’s gold purchases come at a time of growing demand from sovereign nations to move bullion closer to the ultimate owners of the metal. Last month the Dutch government moved a portion of its gold reserves from New York to London."}],[{"start":192.96,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790076282_2898.mp3"}