Chinese Gold Demand Predicted to Rise

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

China’s demand for gold is expected to grow by around 20% over the next few years, according to the World Gold Council.

Last year Chinese consumers bought 1,132 tonnes of gold in jewellery, as well as gold bars and coins.

That is likely to rise to 1,350 tonnes by 2017, the Council said in a new report, citing a number of drivers such as government policy and a rapidly expanding middle-class.

Liberalisation of the gold market in China began in the late 1990s with gold bullion products first offered by local commercial banks in 2004.

With rapid urbanisation, China’s middle-class could top 500 million people by the end of the decade, a significantly larger number than the current population of the United States.

"The cultural affinity for gold runs deep in China and when this is combined with an increasingly affluent population and a supportive government, there is significant room for the market to grow even further,” said Albert Cheng, Managing Director of the Far East at the World Gold Council.

China is the world’s largest consumer of gold since overtaking India last year.

WGC Report: China's gold market: progress and prospects