Asian demand puts floor on gold price

China's central bank has approved foreign exchange purchases by some commercial banks to pay for gold imports under recently increased quotas, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The People's Bank of China's (PBOC) gold import quotas for the country's big banks determine how much bullion enters the world's leading consumer of the precious metal. It has in the past tweaked these quotas to help calibrate demand for dollars.

The sources said the PBOC raised such quotas for gold imports last month and has now also allowed the banks to buy the dollars to fund these gold imports.

The move comes on the heels of a raft of stimulus measures announced by Chinese authorities on Wednesday, including interest rate cuts and a major liquidity injection, as Beijing steps up efforts to soften the economic damage caused by the trade war with the United States.

It could help lenders meet a significantly increased appetite for gold while slowing the pace of yuan appreciation, one of the sources said.
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nickndfl said:

I also bought modern $5 commemoratives at spot. Could not pass up a spot deal on fractional gold. They are sold out now.

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pmbug said:

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China going to buy even more gold.

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China's gold imports surged 73 percent in April to 11-month high​

Despite record highs in gold prices, China’s gold imports surged 73 percent month-on-month in April, the highest level in nearly a year, and the central bank allocated new import quotas to some commercial banks in April to meet investment safe-haven demand.

On Tuesday, customs data showed that China's total gold imports reached 127.5 metric tons last month, a new 11-month high, an increase of 73% month-on-month. At the same time, platinum imports also reached the highest level in a year, importing 11.5 tons in April.
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The central bank’s move to allocate new import quotas to some commercial banks in April was a key factor driving the surge in imports. It is worth noting that the People's Bank of China strictly controls the flow of physical gold, usually only issuing import licenses and quotas to specific designated banks.
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pmbug said:

Per the quoted report, gold imports surged in April after the PBoC raised import quotas. Per Reuters report on May 8, PBoC allowed some banks to buy gold using dollars. I'm curious if that means we'll see even more imports in May than what occurred in April...

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The sources said the PBOC raised such quotas for gold imports last month and has now also allowed the banks to buy the dollars to fund these gold imports.
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3. What are the main objectives of the Implementation Plan?

The Implementation Plan proposes that by 2027, the gold resource guarantee capability and the level of innovation in the industrial chain will be significantly improved. In terms of resource guarantee, the amount of gold resources will increase by 5%-10%, and the output of gold and silver will increase by more than 5%; in terms of technological innovation, a number of key common technologies and equipment will be broken through, and mining and smelting technology equipment such as mining below 2,000 meters and cyanide-free gold extraction will be applied, and the supply capacity of high-end new materials for gold and silver will be significantly enhanced; in terms of industrial upgrading, the output of mines with a gold ore processing capacity of more than 500 tons/day will account for more than 70% of the country, a number of high-quality enterprises will be cultivated, the standard system will be continuously improved, and the industrial structure will be further optimized. Looking forward to 2035, the pattern of high-quality development will be fully formed, the comprehensive resource guarantee capability will be significantly enhanced, and a world-leading technology system and industrial system will be built.
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