By Julien Phillips
Gold-Eagle
As we discussed in our last article, China has managed to acquire well over 2,000 tonnes of gold while the gold price has fallen from $1,650 to $1,180. This is a remarkable feat in itself.
So the next logical question is, “How long can they keep on doing this without the gold price rising rapidly?” The short answer: As long as demand in the traditional markets is either lower or the same as supply. This has two aspects, first the potential for rising demand and second, the potential for falling supplies.
DEMAND
London Physical Market
The main traditional market is London, where supposedly 90% of physical gold is traded. China buys there, ‘on the dips’ by importers taking bulk supplies and shipping them to Hong Kong (and Shanghai?) as stock for the distributors to the retail traded. This is replenished according to perceived future demand, hence the premiums that appear there. It’s done in a way so as to not push prices higher. But they buy large volumes from other sources, direct.