The People's Bank of China (PBoC) did not purchase any Gold in October either, according to data published last Thursday, Commerzbank’s commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch notes.

More Gold is now available to private households

“Accordingly, the PBoC's Gold reserves remained unchanged for the sixth consecutive month at 72.8 million ounces or 2,264 tons. The lack of buying interest from the PBoC caused central bank Gold purchases to fall to 186 tons in the third quarter, almost half the amount purchased in the previous year.”

“At the same time, China needs to import less Gold. China's Gold imports via Switzerland were down 13% year-onyear after nine months, and those via Hong Kong were down 17.5% year-on-year. In both cases, a decline in imports can be seen after the provisional end of PBoC Gold purchases in April.”

“This is because the PBoC's decision not to buy Gold from domestic mine producers means that this Gold is now available to private households.”