A reporter from the Securities Times learned from the China Gold Association on April 26.CarolmegawaysIn the first quarter of 2024, the national gold consumption was 308.Carolmegaways.905 tons, an increase of 5 percent over the same period in 2023Carolmegaways.94%. Of this total, gold jewelry was 183.922 tons, down 3.00 percent from the same period last year; gold bars and coins were 106.323 tons, up 26.77 percent over the same period last year; and 18.660 tons of gold for industrial and other uses, up 3.09 percent from the same period last year.

ReporterCarolmegawaysIt has been learned that the impact of high gold prices on gold consumption is polarized. The rapidly rising gold price, superimposed gold jewelry processing fees and high brand premium and other factors, increased consumer wait-and-see mood, so that gold jewelry consumption has been restrained to a certain extent, gold jewelry retailers increased sales pressure. High gold prices and huge fluctuations make the production and operation risks of gold processing and sales enterprises increase, wholesale and retail enterprises become cautious, jewelry processing enterprises have higher raw material costs, shipments decline, and some small and medium-sized processing enterprises even stop work and have a holiday.

By contrast, physical gold investment has received more attention due to the surge in safe-haven demand, and consumption of gold bars and coins with relatively low premiums has risen sharply.

In terms of production, data show that in the first quarter of 2024, domestic raw material gold production was 85.959 tons, an increase of 0.987 tons compared with the same period in 2023, an increase of 1.16% over the same period last year. Of this total, 60.191 tons of gold mineral gold and 25.768 tons of non-ferrous by-product gold were completed. In addition, imported raw materials produced 53.225 tons of gold in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 78.00 percent over the same period last year; if you add this part of imported raw materials to produce gold, the country produced a total of 139.184 tons of gold, an increase of 21.16 percent over the same period last year.

The reporter learned that in the first quarter of 2024, the strong rise in gold prices has brought new development opportunities for gold enterprises. Under the condition that the gold price is rising rapidly and the production and operating costs remain relatively stable, the profit space of enterprises has increased, the willingness of gold mining enterprises to carry out geological exploration and infrastructure technological transformation has been strengthened, and enterprises can further reduce the selected grade and maximize the use of gold resources. Gold production has further increased.

The rise in gold prices also prompted smelters to increase the procurement of imported gold raw materials, resulting in a substantial increase in gold production from imported raw materials. The output of mine mineral gold in large gold enterprises (groups) is 32.011 tons, accounting for 53.18% of the whole country. Overseas mines of Zijin Mining (601899), Shandong Gold (600547) and Chifeng Gold (600988) achieved an output of 16.339 tons of mineral gold, an increase of 13.50% over the same period last year.

According to statistics, in the first quarter of 2024, the cumulative turnover of all gold varieties in the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 15300 tons bilateral (unilateral 7600 tons), an increase of 32.29% over the same period last year, and the bilateral turnover was 7.49 trillion yuan (3.74 trillion yuan unilateral), an increase of 54.73% over the same period last year. The cumulative turnover of all gold varieties in the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 29000 tons bilateral (unilateral 14500 tons), an increase of 14.89 percent over the same period last year, and the bilateral turnover was 12.53 trillion yuan (6.26 trillion yuan unilateral), an increase of 33.98 percent over the same period last year.

Since March, the price of gold has risen rapidly and trading volume has risen sharply from the previous month. To this end, the exchange has taken certain market risk control measures. The Shanghai Gold Exchange issued a notice to increase the margin ratio and the limit on the margin of gold extended contract trading, while the Shanghai Futures Exchange imposed trading limits on gold futures and raised the handling fees for the main gold futures contracts. Boosted by rising gold prices, domestic gold ETF holdings rose to 66.96t in the first quarter of 2024, up 5.49t from 61.47t at the end of 2023 and 8.93 per cent year-on-year.

Data show that in the first quarter of 2024, China's gold holdings increased by 27.06 tons, and by the end of March, China's gold reserves were 2262.47 tons. From November 2022 to March 2024, China has increased its gold holdings for 17 consecutive months.

Proofreading: ran Yanqing