The record high price level is having a dampening effect on demand for Gold in Asia, as shown by data on Switzerland's Gold exports for September published yesterday by the Swiss Federal Customs Authority, Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch notes.

Gold shipments to India slump by almost 90 percent

“According to the data, Gold shipments to India slumped by almost 90 percent to 5.6 tons compared to August, the lowest level since January 2023. The Indian central bank, for its part, had reported a decline in Gold imports in September by more than half to 53 tons.”

“This illustrates that the sharp increase in Indian Gold imports in August was due to the reduction in the import tax and therefore short-lived. Swiss Gold exports to China had even fallen to zero in August, a level last seen in January 2021. In September, there was an increase to 12.8 tons. However, this means that shipments remained at a relatively low level.”

“In addition, a further 6.6 tons went to Hong Kong, which acts as an import hub for shipments to China. The data on Gold exports from Hong Kong to China in September will be released by the Hong Kong statistics authority at the end of the month.”