Chinese Enthralled by Gold... Gold Purchases Up 16% in First Half Amid Economic Slowdown

As the economic recession prolonged, it was revealed that Chinese people actively engaged in purchasing gold.

According to the China Gold Association on the 25th, the amount of gold purchased by Chinese people in the first half of this year was 554.9 tons, an increase of 16.4% compared to the same period last year. By usage, gold jewelry amounted to 368.3 tons, up 14.8% from the same period last year, and gold bars and coins increased by 30.1% to 146.3 tons.

The National Bureau of Statistics explained that the demand for risk-averse financial investment concentrated on gold, leading to a significant increase in investment in stable physical gold.

With the increase in gold sales within China, raw gold imports rose by 17.5% to 65.4 tons compared to the same period last year, and domestic gold production also increased by 5.9% to 244 tons.

Gold prices in the first half of this year showed a sharp rise due to controversies over the insolvency of U.S. banks. In China, the depreciation of the yuan caused the increase in gold prices to be even more pronounced. As of the end of last month, the price of Au9999 (purity 999‰) gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 448.5 yuan per gram (about 80,000 KRW), up 9.1% compared to the beginning of the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.