From CNBC · Anniek Bao · · 2m
China's gold rush hits record as it ditches the dollar
Beijing's central bank and households are buying gold at unprecedented levels, reshaping global bullion markets and shoring up prices.
In brief
Beijing's central bank and households are buying gold at unprecedented levels, reshaping global bullion markets and shoring up prices. China imported a record one thousand and thirty-four tonnes of gold in the first eight months of twenty twenty-six, driven by the central bank's push to reduce dollar dependence and…
China's central bank on a buying spree
The People's Bank of China added about twenty-three tonnes in September, its biggest monthly purchase in almost three years, extending the longest purchasing streak since at least twenty fifteen.
Households import record amounts
Chinese households and companies spent a record one hundred fifty-eight point eight billion dollars, importing more than one thousand tonnes in the first eight months of twenty twenty-six.
Why Beijing is buying gold
The central bank's main motive is political, according to Carsten Menke at Julius Baer Group, pointing to the weaponization of the U.S.dollar and the related desire to be less dependent on U.S.
“the weaponization of the U.S. dollar and the related desire to be less dependent on U.S. Treasuries as a reserve asset”
Households lack safe alternatives
Chinese consumers are nervous about the shaky economy.The real estate market, once the main store of household wealth, is locked in a multiyear slump.The CSI three hundred index is down around eight percent this year.
Gold prices fall despite buying
Gold prices pulled back more than eight percent in September to about four thousand one hundred seventy-six dollars an ounce, after in January hitting a record above five thousand five hundred dollars.
Chinese buying supports prices
China's demand for gold has helped bullion withstand pressures that would have caused a deeper fall in prices, as buoyant U.S. yields kept a lid on demand for the non-yielding precious metal.
“Chinese buying has become an important source of structural support for gold prices”
China still lags far behind U.S.
The world's fifth-largest gold holder owned two thousand three hundred eighty-seven tonnes as of August, according to the World Gold Council, less than a third of that held by the U.S.
What could slow the buying
Any renewed confidence in China's property and equities could blunt demand for gold, as well as a weaker yuan that makes gold pricier at home or higher interest rates that make deposits more attractive.
The headline
China imported a record one thousand and thirty-four tonnes of gold in the first eight months of twenty twenty-six, driven by the central bank's push to reduce dollar dependence and households seeking safe havens in a weak economy.
