Loading ...The World Gold Council (WGC) and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) signed Thursday a memorandum of understanding to develop a Shanghai free trade zone for bullion and so encourage foreign participation in China’s tightly controlled gold market.
The parties say they will support the development of both domestic and international gold trading in the Asian nation by “leveraging the opportunity provided by the internationalization of the Chinese gold market, through the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, to support market expansion”, the WGC said.
Chinese demand for gold has recovered a few weeks ahead of Lunar New Year celebration, but the peak season pickup remains far below previous years’ levels, which made it the world’s biggest consumer of the precious metal in 2013.
The price of gold in the Beijing, which slipped to an uncharacteristic discount to international rates in November, has strengthened back into positive territory over the last couple of months. China’s premium has doubled to $4 per troy ounce from December.
In September last year, China’s largest physical bullion bourse introduced its international board, aimed at encouraging foreign participation in China’s tightly controlled gold market.
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