Jan Nieuwenhuijs, a gold analyst specializing in Chinese markets, alleges that China has continued to secretly buy gold without reporting it to the market, benefiting from a price cool-off.
Nieuwenhuijs states that the strategy of the PBOC is to purchase gold through UK bullion banks, which goes unreported by using non-traditional bank conduits.
Report Alleges China Secretly Kept Buying Gold in March, Adding 53 Tonnes to Its Gold Stash
China is still buying gold secretly, funneling it through purchases to bullion banks in the UK. This is the conclusion of a report prepared by Jan Nieuwenhuijs, an expert in the Chinese gold market, explaining there is no reason for China to stop buying gold due to its need to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.
For Nieuwenhuijs, some pieces of evidence link a surplus of imported gold to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), including the increase in the net imports that don’t get absorbed by the traditional market.
According to him, the relationship between gold net imports, mine production, and withdrawals had been constant until 2022, when it was altered, with the first two elements surpassing the latter.
This corresponds with an explosion of large gold bars sources from the UK to China that are not found in the vaults of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and the revelation of a source who stated that central bank gold is commonly included in customs data.
The market expert assesses that the Chinese central bank “buys gold in England’s capital and lets banks supervise transport (maybe because the PBOC reaches the limits of its own capacity to ship gold when volumes are sizable).”
His numbers indicate that 53 tonnes were secretly acquired in May when the PBOC publicly stated no gold transactions were executed.
This strategy lets the PBOC underreport its gold purchases to cool off markets and keep adding gold to its reserve at lower prices.
In March, Nieuwenhuijs reported on the secret gold stash that the PBOC would be holding, stating that it could be hoarding over 5,300 tonnes to prepare for an upcoming debasement of the U.S. dollar.
What do you think about China’s unreported gold purchases? Tell us in the comments section below.
