Gold Little Changed After Rising Most in a Week on China Demand

Gold was little changed after climbing the most in a week on 7 January amid signs of increased demand in China before the Lunar New Year.

Spot gold was at $1,658.75 an ounce in Singapore, from $1,659.25 on 7 January, when the metal snapped a three-day losing run. Cash gold rose 0.8 percent, the most since Jan. 2, as data showed imports by China from Hong Kong climbed to a seven-month high in November. Volumes for cash bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange were almost double the daily average in 2012.

In China, demand typically picks up before Christmas and lasts through the Lunar New Year in February. China’s net imports of gold, excluding flows from the mainland to Hong Kong, were 61,786.6 kilograms in November, data from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government showed on 7 January. China, set to overtake India as the world’s largest consumer, doesn’t publish such data.

China Gold

The increase in gold imports comes as output in China, the world’s largest producer, surged to 43.7 tons in November. That’s a monthly record, according to GF Futures Co.’s analyst Feng Liang. Gold for February delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,658.40 an ounce on the Comex. Futures climbed 1 percent on 7 January, the most since Dec. 31.