World Gold Council: China's Gold Market Booms in 2023

China’s gold market witnessed a notable surge in 2023 despite the country’s economic recovery facing challenges and consumer spending remaining cautious. The Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price PM saw a significant 17% increase. Gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange rose to 1,687 tons, a 7% year-over-year increase. Impressively, Chinese gold ETFs attracted an additional RMB 5 billion (around US$654 million), pushing their total assets under management to a record RMB 29 billion (US$4 billion), with holdings increasing by 10 tons to 62 tons. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) consistently purchased gold throughout the year, increasing their reserves by 225 tons to a total of 2,235 tons. This robust demand, coupled with stable production and a drop in imports late in the year, led to unprecedented local gold price premiums.