Gold exports from Switzerland to China drop in October

Swiss gold exports fell about 11% in October from the previous month, customs data showed on Thursday, as elevated prices squeezed Chinese demand.

Supplies to China plunged 93% to 2.1 metric tons, their lowest level since February, when there were no reported supplies to China at all. In comparison, exports to China in September were at 31.0 tons.

“The strong price increase in October could have dented the appetite for purchases in China, with the Shanghai price trading in the first half of the month below the London price,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Spot gold prices are up 55% so far this year, heading for their biggest annual gain since 1979. Bullion hit a record high of $4,381.21 per troy ounce on October 20.

Physical gold demand in top consumer China was muted in early October with dealers offering discounts of $48–$60 an ounce to attract buyers.

Gold exports from Switzerland, the world’s biggest bullion refining and transit hub, to the United Kingdom dropped by 69% to 8.7 tons in October, from 28 tons in the previous month, the data showed.

“Normally UK demand is strongly influenced by ETF (exchange-traded fund) demand … Following a strong rise in September in ETF holdings, October gold ETF holdings moved rather sideways, removing one demand component,” Staunovo said.

Exports to Thailand surged nearly nine-fold month-on-month to 13.9 tons in October from 1.5 tons in September, the customs data showed.

(By Anushree Mukherjee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)