China stocks up gold to meet seasonal demand

Gold shipments to the mainland from Hong Kong rose last month as jewellers and retailers bought the metal to build up inventories before a peak-demand season at the end of the year.

Net imports, after deducting flows from the mainland into Hong Kong, were 129.9 tonnes, compared with 109.4 tonnes in September, according to calculations based on data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.

The amount in the first 10 months more than doubled to 955.9 tonnes from a year earlier, the data shows.

Mainland China is on course to overtake India as the world's biggest bullion consumer, with demand forecast to reach 1,000 tonnes this year, according to the World Gold Council.

Gold rose 5.5 per cent from a 34-month low in June as price drops spurred demand for jewellery, coins and bars in Asia, even as other investors cut holdings in exchange-traded products.

"There's preparation for demand that always ramps up in the fourth quarter," said Wang Xinyou, the head of the precious metals division at Agricultural Bank of China in Beijing.