China's gold demand

We know that China is the largest consumer for a range of industrial commodities like iron, copper, coal etc. However, its love for the yellow metal is unknown. Fathom this. In this year, China's gold demand is expected to grow 1% to 860 tonnes. This would effectively mean that China will overtake India as the world's biggest consumer of gold. As per consultancy firm Thomson-Reuters, China's jewellery demand will be at 520 tons while investment demand is expected to be at 270 tons for the year. The balance 70 tons will come from industrial consumption. It may be noted that in 2011, China's mine output was just 371 tons. So, effectively, China imports a lot of gold to satisfy its domestic demand. And increasing demand from China this year means that the gold prices are likely to stay firm. While the record high of $1,920 per ounce is still far away, the China factor may well see the same being breached soon