A notable signal has emerged in this year’s gold market: amid a notable pullback in international gold prices and a relatively strong Renminbi, China’s gold imports have surged sharply. Cumulative imports in the first eight months exceeded 1,000 tonnes, surpassing the full-year figure for 2025.
This shift shows that even with gold trading near historic highs, investors’ allocation demand has not cooled materially. On the contrary, whenever gold prices stage a phase correction, capital rushes in quickly, with buying interest in physical gold and gold ETFs picking up simultaneously.
The latest customs data shows gold imports topped 1,000 tonnes by the end of August, hitting an all-time high for this period and exceeding the total volume for the whole of 2025.
Zijie Wu, analyst at Jinrui Futures, stated robust investment demand keeps domestic gold prices at a small premium to international benchmarks, and this price spread further boosts the appeal of imported gold.
Wu pointed out that the Renminbi has remained generally strong so far this year, creating more favourable market conditions for gold imports.
In terms of trading logic, a stronger Renminbi means lower local-currency costs for gold imports. When international gold prices also enter a corrective phase, the combination of these two factors tends to lift import and allocation demand substantially.
ETF Holdings Rise by 18%
Beyond strong physical gold demand, gold financial products continue to attract capital. Data from the Shanghai Gold Exchange shows gold ETF holdings rose by roughly 44 tonnes by the end of August, up 18% from the start of the year.
In contrast, global gold ETF holdings saw little change over the same period. This divergence reveals markedly stronger allocation demand in the regional market.
This also means current gold buying is not only driven by jewellery and physical investment demand; financial instruments such as gold ETFs have become an important gateway for capital inflows.
As volatility in stocks, bonds and other risk assets intensifies, gold’s appeal as a defensive asset and risk hedging tool has risen again.
Investors Buy as Gold Prices Dip
The sharp rise in gold imports this year is closely linked to the pullback from historic highs at the start of the year. After hitting a record peak in January, international gold prices underwent a notable correction, quickly drawing investors to buy on dips. Since then, whenever gold prices fall in phases, the physical and investment markets have shown solid absorption capacity.
This price action reflects a distinctive feature of the current gold market: high prices have not really deterred buyers; instead, corrections keep attracting fresh capital.
For investors who missed the gold rally earlier, price corrections offer new allocation windows. Meanwhile, domestic gold maintains a certain premium over international markets, signalling overall resilient local demand.
Safe-Haven and Allocation Demand Rise in Tandem
Global financial markets continue to face multiple uncertainties this year.
High interest rates, inflation pressure, geopolitical risks and sharp swings in asset prices have kept investors’ focus on asset safety. In this environment, gold is no longer merely a short-term safe-haven tool in the traditional sense; it is gradually becoming a long-term allocation asset in some investment portfolios.
Especially amid high valuations for some risk assets and wild swings in bond yields, gold’s risk-diveRSIfying and value-preserving attributes have regained attention. That explains why gold demand has not weakened markedly even with international gold prices near historic highs.
Diverging Global Capital Flows
Notably, domestic gold ETF holdings have climbed significantly while global gold ETFs saw limited overall changes. This shows capital allocation logic is diverging across markets.
Some overseas investors remain attracted by high bond yields and returns on US dollar assets, so they stay relatively cautious on gold allocation. However, investors in certain ASIan markets retain strong willingness to allocate to gold, and capital flows back much faster once gold prices correct.
This regional disparity in demand forms a key backdrop for sustained high gold imports this year.