Swiss gold exports to Asia fell considerably in April

Gold is trading at around $1,190 per troy ounce this morning, having recovered only slightly from the two-week low it recorded yesterday. In other words, the correction of the EUR-USD exchange rate has not been reflected in the gold price. In fact, it has even meant that gold in euro terms has fallen to just shy of €1,090 per troy ounce. 

According to figures published this morning by the Swiss Federal Customs Administration, Switzerland exported 143.9 tons of gold in April, 36% less than in March. More than three quarters of this total was shipped to Asia, gold exports to India declining by 28% month-on-month to 51.8 tons and those to China even plummeting 67% to 15.1 tons. By contrast, exports to Hong Kong surged by 36% to a good 43.4 tons, notes Commerzbank. 

The Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government will be publishing figures for gold trading with the Chinese mainland today. It will then become clear whether the weak Chinese gold demand in the first quarter was merely temporary or has spilled over into the second quarter. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, only Kazakhstan bought any sizeable quantity of gold in April (2.4 tons) apart from Russia. The figures show that the central banks acquired only around 11 tons of gold in total to diversify their currency reserves last month. Sales on a net basis are unlikely, however. According to the World Gold Council, central banks were net gold purchasers in the first quarter for already the seventeenth quarter in a row.