The price of gold rose to a record 2,400 dollars per ounce in the world market this year. In Bangladeshi currency the amount is 2 lakh 63 thousand 625 taka. Although the price of gold is slightly lower than that in the current market, it still maintains the previous high and there are fears that it may surpass the previous record again at any time.
This dramatic fluctuation in the price of gold in the global market, according to international market analysts, is not completely normal. According to them, the mastermind behind the unstable gold market is China, the world’s largest gold producer. Because the interest in buying and saving this precious metal in the country is increasing unabated.
According to Bloomberg, China’s central bank, big traders and investors, retailers, and even ordinary people are buying and hoarding gold in any way they can. The main reason for their interest is that they think there may be economic uncertainty in the future due to geopolitical tensions, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and fluctuations in the value of the dollar.
China and India have been the biggest buyers of gold in the international market so far. But last year China surpassed India in terms of demand. In 2023, while Chinese buyers’ propensity to buy gold jewelery increased by 10 percent, Indian buyers’ propensity to buy gold jewelery decreased by 6 percent in 2023. In addition to the trend of buying gold ornaments, the rate of investment using gold as a medium has also increased in China.
China’s central bank is not free from this trend. The People’s Bank of China has been buying gold from the international market as well as from the central banks of other countries for 17 consecutive months. It is assumed that this trend will continue throughout the year 2024.
Apart from this, although China is the world’s largest producer of gold internally, it has greatly increased the level of private gold imports. Over the past two years, China has imported more than 2,800 tons of gold, which is equivalent to a third of the gold reserves in the Federal Reserve System. However, in a statement, the Chinese government warned the public that if buyers do not rein in their gold purchases, the national economy will be adversely affected in the near future.
