According to the latest statistics of China Gold Association: in the first three quarters of 2022, the domestic raw material gold output is 269.987 tons, an increase of 33.235 tons compared with the same period in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 14.04%. Among them, 214.109 tons of gold minerals and 55.878 tons of non-ferrous gold by-product have been completed. In addition, in the first three quarters of 2022, gold production from imported raw materials was 86.362 tons, up 9.70 percent year on year. If gold production from imported raw materials is included, a total of 356.349 tons of gold was produced nationwide, up 12.95 percent year on year.
In the first three quarters of 2022, the production and operation of mines and smelters in major gold producing areas such as Shandong, Gansu and Inner Mongolia improved steadily, and the gold output increased significantly compared with the same period last year, leading to a substantial increase in the national gold output. In the first three quarters of 2022, large gold enterprises (groups) produced 115.083 tons of gold from mines in China, accounting for 53.75 percent of the country's total, an increase of 8.60 percentage points over the same period in 2021.
In the first three quarters of 2022, overseas mines of large gold enterprises (groups) such as Zijin Mining, Shandong Gold, Chifeng Gold and Lingbao Gold produced 36.466 tons of gold, up 35.57% year on year.
In the first three quarters of 2022, China's gold consumption was 778.09 tons, down 4.36 percent from the same period in 2021. Among them: 522.15 tons of gold jewelry, down 1.31% year-on-year; 191.73 tons of gold bars and coins, down 10.46% year on year; Industrial and other gold was 64.21 tons, down 8.79 percent year on year. In the first three quarters, affected by the multi-point spread of the epidemic in China, the gold consumption market recovered from fluctuations, and the market share of top brands further increased. The overall consumption of gold jewelry showed a slight downward trend, but key retail enterprises grasped the opportunity of channel expansion and competed for the sinking market. The sales of brands such as Lao Fengxiang and Lao Miao increased against the trend. Similarly, while overall physical gold investment consumption has declined, some major gold retailers and commercial banks have continued to increase sales of gold bars and coins.
In the first three quarters of 2022, the cumulative turnover of all gold varieties on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 30,600 tons bilateral (15,300 tons unilateral), up 16.25% year on year, and the turnover was 11.89 trillion yuan bilateral (5.95 trillion yuan unilateral), up 20.13% year on year. The cumulative turnover of all gold varieties in Shanghai Futures Exchange was 65,600 tons bilateral (32,800 tons unilateral), down 9.71% year-on-year, and the turnover was 23.23 trillion yuan bilateral (11.62 trillion yuan unilateral), down 9.32% year-on-year. In the third quarter, the size of domestic gold ETF holdings recovered somewhat, but the total amount of the first three quarters was still reduced by 17.32 tons. By the end of September, the domestic gold ETF holdings were about 57.97 tons.
At the beginning of 2022, the price of gold rose in a volatile way. On March 8, it surpassed $2,000 / oz, almost touching an all-time high. In the second and third quarters, the strength of the dollar index kept gold prices under pressure. At the end of September, spot gold in London was fixed at $1,671.75 an ounce, down 7.71% from the start of the year. But the impact of the yuan exchange rate, domestic gold prices remain firm. Au9999 gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange opened at 373.00 yuan/gram at the beginning of the year and closed at 390.00 yuan/gram at the end of September, up 4.56% compared to the beginning of the year. The weighted average price in the first three quarters of the year was 387.57 yuan/gram, up 3.31% compared to the same period last year.
Global central banks maintained net gold purchases in the first three quarters of 2022, with countries such as Turkey and India increasing their holdings.
