China National Gold Group Gold Jewellery Association: Q1 gold consumption increased by 4.41% year-on-year, and the increase in gold ETF positions increased by 115% year-on-year.

According to the latest statistics from China National Gold Group Gold Jewelry Association, in the first quarter of 2026, China's gold consumption was 303.292 tons, an increase of 4.41% year-on-year. Specifically: gold jewelry was 84.620 tons, a decrease of 37.10% year-on-year; gold bars and coins were 202.062 tons, an increase of 46.40% year-on-year; industrial and other gold use was 16.610 tons, a decrease of 7.43% year-on-year. Due to the high and volatile international gold prices, domestic gold jewelry consumption continued to be under pressure, with a slide in consumption. At the same time, there was strong demand for gold investment, making gold bars and coins a popular investment category with a significant increase in sales through bank channels. Furthermore, the high gold prices raised the cost of gold for industrial enterprises, leading to a certain degree of decline in gold demand. In the first quarter of 2026, domestic gold ore production was 81.065 tons, a decrease of 6.178 tons year-on-year, a decrease of 7.08% year-on-year; imported gold ore production was 55.165 tons, an increase of 1.578 tons year-on-year, an increase of 2.94% year-on-year. The total production of gold from domestic and imported ores was 136.230 tons, a decrease of 4.600 tons year-on-year, a decrease of 3.27% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2026, the gold industry's mines and smelters carried out safety inspections, identified hidden dangers in various production facilities, and some enterprises stopped production for maintenance according to regulations. These series of control measures to a certain extent affected the domestic gold production in the first quarter. Meanwhile, industry resource integration continued to progress, with Zijin Mining Group announcing its intention to acquire the equity of Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining, further concentrating quality resources. Strong overseas production capacity release by large gold groups led to a significant increase in mineral gold production to 24.173 tons in the first quarter, an increase of 30.77% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2026, the Shanghai Gold Exchange's total trading volume for all gold varieties was 0.72 thousand tons (1.45 thousand tons on both sides), a decrease of 9.61% year-on-year; the total trading volume was 7.84 trillion yuan (15.68 trillion yuan on both sides), an increase of 46.58% year-on-year. The Shanghai Futures Exchange's total gold futures and options trading volume was 3.38 thousand tons (6.76 thousand tons on both sides), an increase of 22.08% year-on-year; the total trading volume was 28.41 trillion yuan (56.83 trillion yuan on both sides), an increase of 86.18% year-on-year. At the end of March 2026, the London spot gold fixing price was $4608.35 per ounce, up 5.05% from $4386.85 per ounce at the beginning of the year; the Shanghai Gold Exchange's closing price for Au9999 gold was 1018.90 yuan per gram, up 2.92% from the opening price of 990.00 yuan per gram at the beginning of the year. In the first quarter of 2026, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium prices successively hit historical highs, with market volatility. The Shanghai Gold Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, and Guangzhou Futures Exchange promptly issued risk alerts, strengthened trading supervision, initiated risk control measures to ensure the stable operation of the domestic precious metals market. In the first quarter of 2026, domestic gold ETF holdings increased by 50.438 tons, a growth of 114.88% compared to the first quarter of 2025. By the end of March 2026, domestic gold ETF holdings reached 298.289 tons. In the first quarter of 2026, China increased its gold holdings by 7.15 tons, bringing its gold reserves to 2313.48 tons by the end of March, ranking 5th globally. From November 2024 to March 2026, China has been continuously increasing its gold holdings for 17 consecutive months.