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China October Gold Imports Surge To Second Highest Ever
Overnight, China reported its biggest trade surplus in almost five years, when November net exports hit $33.8 billion, up from $31.1 billion in October, and 50% above the $21.2 billion consensus estimate. This was driven by a surge in exports which rose by 12.7% (more than the 7% expected), while imports rose by a slightly disappointing (5.3% vs Exp. 7.0%). Of course, when it comes to Chinese trade data, the numbers are so notoriously manipulated that even Goldman threw up on them as recently as last year forcing China to admit everything was more or less made up. Regardless, the ongoing influx of US Dollars means that the Chinese FX reserves of $3.66 trillion in Q3 will swell even more. The bigger question is what will China do with the surplus: will it buy more Treasurys - something it hasn't done in over a year - or invest in alternative commodities.
Such as gold.
According to Hong Kong customs data, in the month of October (with the usual one month delay), China imported 148 total tons of gold in a month in which the price of gold, once again plunged. Curiously, unlike momentum chasers of paper ETF promises to get gold delivery, China continues to BTFD in gold, and the 148 tons of import in the past month was the second highest monthly import ever through Hong Kong, second only to the 224 tons imported in March of 2013. Compared to a year ago, when the price of gold was over 30% higher, China has imported over 200% more than the 48 tons it bought through Hong Kong a year ago. At least someone is grateful for plunging gold prices.
On a net basis, October was also the second busiest month for Chinese gold imports, soaring to a near record 131.2 tons, second only to March's 136.2 tons, and represents the sixth consecutive month in which China has imported more than 100 tons of gold net of exports.
These numbers of course exclude gold procured in China using other means, such as imports via other venues, as well as internally produced gold.
In total, China's gross YTD imports now amount to just over 1260 tons, while the net gold imports from Hong Kong are a record 982 tons.
Finally, putting the total number of imports in perspective since our September 2011 expose in which we noted that it was now China's explicit strategy to confidentially hoard gold, China has imported a whopping 2380 tons of gold in the past 26 months. Throughout this period the PBOC has never updated its new official holdings number. However, one thing is clear: the more the price of (paper?) gold drops, the more the Chinese purchases of physical gold become. And yes, that is 26 consecutive months of positive (and increasing) gold imports.
One thing is certain: the number of China's official gold holdings, which has not been updated in nearly five years since early 2009, is now hopelessly inaccurate.
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bitcoin is in a speculative bubble, IMO. It's not worth nothing, but it's worth closer to nothing than $1200 BTC. Your local grocery store, your favorite restaurant, and your gas station will never take BTC as payment.
Hard Ass-ettes.
Here is the catalyst for gold. Gold itself is the best catalyst accelerating many chemical reactions in its presence
I stumbled over this theme a few days ago when reading a local newspaper from Heidelberg, Germany. A tiny note (four lines) in the inside mentioned that a researcher at the Heidelberg University has received a scientific honor prize including 2000 Euros for recognizing his importance in the fast growing field of "gold catalysis" The prize winner is:
Prof. Dr. A. Stephen K. Hashmi, Chair for Organic Chemistry, Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
I became curious and here is what I found in brief about his work and his research field:
Excerpts and statements:
"In the beginning, it was difficult to convince other chemists that our findings were of a broad scope and not singularities."
Catalysis is an essential part of modern chemistry, more than 80% of all chemicals produced in industry are based on catalytic reactions. Catalysis is one of the most important principles of green chemistry and catalytic conversion of renewables might be the foundation of future chemical production, a key technology which is essential for our modern society.
For the formation of catalysts, nature offers only a little over 100 chemical elements. Thus, it is amazing that for a long time one of these chemical elements, namely gold, was neglected in the search for new and selective catalysts. The paper describes the early efforts in gold catalysis and the intense new developments since 2000, which resulted in numerous new and previously unknown catalyzed reactions.
"Catalysis by gold has rapidly become a hot topic in chemistry, with a new discovery being made almost every week. Gold is equally effective as a heterogeneous or a homogeneous catalyst and in this Review we attempt to marry these two facets to demonstrate this new found and general efficacy of gold. The latest discoveries are placed within a historical context, but the main thrust is to highlight the new catalytic possibilities that gold-catalyzed reactions currently offer the synthetic chemist, in particular in redox reactions and nucleophilic additions to pi systems. Indeed gold has proved to be an effective catalyst for many reactions for which a catalyst had not been previously identified, and many new discoveries are still expected.
"In the beginning, it was difficult to convince other chemists that our findings were of a broad scope and not singularities."
Catalysis is an essential part of modern chemistry, more than 80% of all chemicals produced in industry are based on catalytic reactions. Catalysis is one of the most important principles of green chemistry and catalytic conversion of renewables might be the foundation of future chemical production, a key technology which is essential for our modern society.
For the formation of catalysts, nature offers only a little over 100 chemical elements. Thus, it is amazing that for a long time one of these chemical elements, namely gold, was neglected in the search for new and selective catalysts. The paper describes the early efforts in gold catalysis and the intense new developments since 2000, which resulted in numerous new and previously unknown catalyzed reactions.
Here are some links:
http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/fbp/2008/08junfbp/08junfbpHashmi/
Led by Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates, Chemists are Going for Gold | ScienceWatch | Thomson Reuters
For centuries gold was the way that humankind either hoarded its wealth or adorned itself. Its unchanging nature ensured that it remained attractive, but few practical uses were found for the metal. Nor was it of much interest to chemists. Today gold is a hot topic, both academically and industrially. Indeed, as a catalyst it promises to have a major role in greening the world’s chemical industry, by making it possible to produce the things we need by processes that are low in energy input and high in product output.
Already the manufacture of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), the precursor to the poly-vinyls used as adhesives, fibers, and paints, is starting to rely on a gold-based catalyst developed by Johnson Matthey. The chemical company INEOS has such a plant at Hull, England, which produces 300,000 tons of VAM a year. Another process that might soon benefit from gold catalysts is the making vinyl chloride for PVC.
In my opinion nobody can stop this trend and this means, that there exists a growing market for the use of gold in chemistry (chemical production, environemntal cleaning, renewable enrgies and, and and)
So, Merry Christmas friends of gold !
Thanks and Merry Xmas to you also Supermax.
I don't get it, declining prices = more gold. China has how many USD? Why don't they buy more? I will never get it, too stupide.
All the gold in this world put together cannot save them from lung cancer.
Pollution is a btich.
If only they had Obamacare!
wasn't obamacare modeled from Maocare?
Do the U.S.'s 8,000mt include Germany's, the IMF's, and tungsten?
The money power is shifting from West to East.
'Revenge is a dish best served cold.'
The Chinese have long memories, and the Opium Wars were a battle won by the western British based moneychangers.
China will not be dominated again by wicked foreign moneychangers, in my opinion. The next new money system will include gold, a return to normal. Sound money for sound people.
China, the world's oldest continuous civilisation. The world is a contest of ideas,and values matter more than price or tribalism, in my opinion.
Agreed that China will be better off with gold than dollars, but they may have already met the threshold necessary for insurance against the USA's default. USA dollars are a world-wide problem, just as USA's manifest destiny is a world-wide problem. The USA is not militarily vulnerable, but financially it is stumbling. Getting a rogue superpower to heel will not, by itself, constitute a stable future. A new (or old) system of rewarding virtue and punishing vice must replace the corrupted (present) system. It would better to make this transition with a minimum of violence. So what does this have to do with China's enormous appitite for gold? Of course gold will anchor the world economy, but unless India's wives and daughters become the world's bankers, China needs more gold.
Interesting that you mention India, a non-aligned nation with a great cultural heritage and affinity with gold. Sound money for sound people.
We should see a bounce in gold very soon.
http://bullandbearmash.com/chart/spot-gold-daily-closes-channel-support-...
Could take us back to near 1300.
"One thing is certain: the number of China's official gold holdings, which has not been updated in nearly five years since early 2009, is now hopelessly inaccurate."
And another thing that is "hopelessly inaccurate" is this figure: -
TONNES
1. United States 8133.5
Could China be selling paper short (via third party) while buying physical or are they not a big enough player to be able to manipulate the market?
Remember there are billions of people in China who need to sew gold into their clothes...
I would think it is obvious what is happening here, China has been printiong trillions of RMb easily outdoing Japan and the risible ben wanker and even the ECB.
And rightly now that they have overtaken the filthy euro ponzi voucher as the worlds second most traded currency, it also wants full control over the world currency
The RMB
And what better way to decouple from the uselss US$ and fix it to its own gold standard.
Everyone, and I mean everyone will want RMB purely for its stability and its inability to be manipultaed and people have their life savings stolen by the theives in Crussels the Fed and the BOE and of course in Tokyo.
I am buying RMB and selling short pretty much every other currency in the world .