BullionStar Blogs

2015 Chinese Lunar Year Gold Buying Frenzy Started

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• Koos Jansen

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Every year around January first the Chinese ramp up gold buying at retail level to an unprecedented pace (click, click and click to read about the buying spree last year). The Chinese calendar (Lunar Year) is slightly different than the Western (Gregorian) calendar. In China new year will be celebrated on February 19, 2015, this time to begin the year … Continue Reading

The Turkish Gold Standard, Part 1

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• Koos Jansen

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One the most interesting gold markets around, but least talked about, is the Turkish gold market. The Turkish people have a strong tradition that goes back thousands of years to save in physical gold and it’s estimated 5,000 tonnes of gold are owned privately. Additionally, the Turkish central bank (CBRT) has implemented a model in … Continue Reading

Yearly Shanghai Silver Volume Surpasses COMEX Again

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• Koos Jansen

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Happy New Year from the BullionStar team! In 2014 silver futures traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) accounted for 2,908,168 tonnes. On the COMEX 2,123,387 tonnes were traded, 37 % less than in Shanghai. First let’s have a look at the latest SGE trade report of week 52 (December 22 -26). Total SGE gold withdrawals was a staggering 58 … Continue Reading

The Netherlands Planned To Introduce New Currency in 2012

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• Koos Jansen

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The Netherlands (and likely Germany as well) made concrete plans in 2012 to switch to a new currency in case the euro would crash. Not long after the emergency currency was ready the Dutch began repatriating 122.5 tonnes of gold from New York. This can be very important as there is a possibility the Eurocrisis will ignite again. Monday … Continue Reading

New York Federal Reserve Lost 47t Of Gold In November

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• Koos Jansen

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The number we all have been waiting for; The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY), which is the custodian for parts of the official gold reserves of 36 nations and the IMF, e.g. The Netherlands and Germany, saw its inventory of foreign gold deposits drop by 47 tonnes in November 2014. Year to date … Continue Reading

Gold Chat About The Chinese Gold Lease Market

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• Koos Jansen

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As some of you may have noticed Bron Suchecki, manager at the Perth Mint and publisher of the Goldchat blog, wrote a critical article about my recent post on the Chinese gold lease market. Firstly I would like to thank him for the work he does writing critical articles on blogs in the gold space that have lost touch with … Continue Reading

BullionStar Offers to Pay Employees in Gold & Silver

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar is the first employer in Singapore to pay employees in Gold and Silver! View Channel News Asia’s coverage featuring BullionStar’s CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson and Sales Manager Mr. Vincent Tie. The press release can be read here. Continue Reading

Turd Ferguson Interviews Koos Jansen

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• Koos Jansen

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Turd Ferguson interviewed me last Thursday (October 9, 2014), a conversation worth sharing because we talked about a lot of subjects, like Chinese gold demand (government demand and non-government demand), the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the PBOC, the SDR, the IMF, the Turkish gold market, the Chinese silver market, etc. There were of course a thousand things I … Continue Reading

China Buys 45t Of Gold Ahead Of Golden Week

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• Koos Jansen

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The National Day Golden Week, a one week holiday in China mainland, yes, the Chinese name their holidays golden, began on October 1 this year, so that’s when trading stopped on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE). This means I only have half a story for you today. The latest withdrawal data from the SGE always … Continue Reading

It's Confirmed: PBOC Doesn't Purchase Gold Through SGE

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• Koos Jansen

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Last week I wrote Scotiabank had released an unveiling report on Chinese gold demand, written by Na Liu of CNC Asset Management Ltd.. In the report Na stated what I’ve been publishing for over a year: the amount of gold withdrawn from the vaults of the Shanghai Gold Exchange equals Chinese wholesale gold demand. This report put a little smile on my … Continue Reading

New York Fed Gold Stock Tumbles 15 Tonnes In August

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• Koos Jansen

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Could it be sie Germans? Every month the Federal Reserve bank of New York (FRBNY) publishes the amount of gold it holds in custody for 36 foreign central banks and the IMF. After a significant drop in July of 24 tonnes, 15 tonnes were withdrawn from the vaults in August. Germany is the only country, that I’m aware of, … Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand Explosive

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• Koos Jansen

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Whilst western media are still under the assumption Chinese gold demand is declining, based on data from the World Gold Council and net gold export from Hong Kong to China mainland, in reality demand is extremely strong. As I’ve previously written, the lower the price of gold will go the more physical gold will be purchased by … Continue Reading

Workings Of The Shanghai International Gold

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• Koos Jansen

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This post is part of the Chinese Gold Market Essentials series. Click here to go to an overview of all Chinese Gold Market Essentials for a comprehensive understanding of the largest physical gold market globally. This post was updated in late 2017. “This event is a major milestone in China’s opening of its financial market to foreign investors. The … Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 41t in Week 37, 1331t YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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The Shanghai International Gold Exchange Is Launched! Where to begin. Much has happened this week in the Chinese gold market; on wednesday the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) released multiple rule books written in English describing every detail on the workings of the SGE and its brand new subsidiary the Shanghai International Gold Exchange (SGEI). Finally the world can read everything... Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 39t In Week 36, YTD 1290t

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• Koos Jansen

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Robust Chinese gold demand is keeping up its pace. Chinese wholesale demand, measured by withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange vaults, was 39 tonnes in week 36 (September 1 – 5). Year to to date 1290 tonnes has been withdrawn from the SGE vaults. Blue is weekly withdrawals in Kg, Green is withdrawals year to date … Continue Reading

Another Week Of Strong Gold Demand In China

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• Koos Jansen

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Silver remains scarce in Shanghai Shanghai Gold After a very strong week from August 18 to 22, in which SGE withdrawals accounted for 46 tonnes, the sequential week was nearly as strong; in between August 25 and 29 withdrawals from the SGE vaults accounted for 42 tonnes. Year to date 1251 tonnes has left the … Continue Reading

Introducing the 2015 Perth Mint Lunar Series Coins

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• BullionStar
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The 2015 Australian Lunar Silver Goat is now available in stock for immediate delivery.The Chinese Lunar Calandar The ShengXiao, is known in English as the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is a system that relates each year to an animal according to a repeated 12-year cycle. It is based on the ancient 12-year Chinese Lunar … Continue Reading

Chinese Weekly Gold Demand Highest Since February

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• Koos Jansen

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Withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange vaults, which equals Chinese wholesale demand, in week 34 (August 18 to 22) accounted for 46 metric tonnes, the highest weekly amount withdrawn since late February (25 weeks ago). Year to date wholesale demand stands at 1209 tonnes. It’s worth stressing that this number includes gold that is recycled through the SGE. … Continue Reading

BullionStar Founder Torgny Persson on Channel News Asia

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• BullionStar
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Mr Torgny Persson, CEO of BullionStar Pte Ltd gave his views on Channel News Asia 28 August on the reason why gold and silver is valuable and why it is better to own gold than diamonds as the pricing of gold and silver is more transparent. Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 1163 MT YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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Withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), which equal Chinese wholesale demand, accounted for 35 metric tonnes in week 33 (August 4 – 8). Up 7.25 % w/w, additionally the largest amount withdrawn in 8 weeks. Year to date 1163 tonnes have been withdrawn, for which I estimate 723 tonnes had to be net imported … Continue Reading

India Imports 2559 MT Silver In 5 Months

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• Koos Jansen

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“Rupee" comes from r?pya, a Sanskrit term for silver coin While silver has been widely used as money in history, at the beginning of the 19th century gold became the dominant metal in trade. At the end of the 19th century central banks erupted around the world and began holding gold in reserve to back their currencies, … Continue Reading

East Asia Geared Up For RMB Gold Trading

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), which equals Chinese wholesale demand, have been nearly flat for four weeks in a row. 33 metric tonnes have been withdrawn in week 32 (August 4 – 8), up a modest 4.2 % w/w. Year to date 1,127 tonnes have been withdrawn, annualized 1,831 tonnes. Gold premiums also remained flat, around … Continue Reading

Global Gold Trade Declines In H1 2014

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• Koos Jansen

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After having seen unprecedented amounts of physical gold moving across the globe in the aftermath of the goldprice collapse in April 2013, trade has been less robust in the past few months. In 2013 the UK net exported 1424 metric tonnes, Switzerland gross imported 3061 tonnes and gross exported 2777 tonnes, Hong Kong gross imported 2239 tonnes and gross exported … Continue Reading

Buying Gold Using Bitcoin at BullionStar

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• BullionStar
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Watch this video to see when David from CoinRepublic visited BullionStar’s bullion retail shop at 45 New Bridge Road in Singapore to buy gold using Bitcoins. Continue Reading

Shanghai Silver In Backwardation

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• Koos Jansen

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Today the front month silver contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) closed at an 8 % premium over London spot. Therewithal the futures curve of silver is in backwardation; silver is scarce in Shanghai. Backwardation means the future price is lower than the present spot price. Normally the futures curve of precious metals is in contango, meaning … Continue Reading

Swiss Teen Explains Ukrainian Gold Transport By U.S.

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• Koos Jansen

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On Jugend-TV, a website that provides a stage for juveniles to present news, 17 year old Michael from Switzerland explains how the US took the sovereign gold reserves of the Ukraine in the turmoil that erupted after president Yanukovich had resigned. Translated by David van der Linden: Full transcript: Geheimtransport Ukrainischen Goldreserven in die USA Hello … Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 1094 MT YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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First let’s go through the Chinese SGE report published on August 8, which covers week 31 (July 28 – August 1). The total volume of gold traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) was 258 tonnes, of which 147 tonnes were traded as the spot deferred contracts Au(T+D) and mAu(T+D), the open interest closed at 141 tonnes. Total deliveries of the … Continue Reading

HMRC & Eurostat Alter Historic UK Gold Trade Data

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• Koos Jansen

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It was in August 2013 when I started digging into UK gold trade data. While at the time China was importing unprecedented amounts of gold, through customs data I was able to track the source all the way back to the UK, home of the London Bullion Market. In 2013 the only available database for … Continue Reading

Guest Post: 5 Chinese Ghost Cities That Came Alive

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• Koos Jansen

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By Wade Shepard from Vagabond Journey, @vagabondjourney Reports of the world’s most populated country having tens of millions of empty apartments and dozens of cities without people sounds like a sick twist of irony. But images of empty streets, barren skyscrapers, and thickets of brand new high-rise apartments housing nobody have been compulsively aired to a global audience that... Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 1063 MT YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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Total Chinese Reserves Reach 15,000 Tonnes For ten days I’ve been on vacation without internet, hence I missed one week to report on withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) vaults. Here is a quick overview of what happened in the Chinese gold market in week 29 and 30. In week 29 (July 14 -18) 32 metric … Continue Reading

BullionStar’s Opening Ceremony

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• BullionStar
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  BulllionStar officially opened its bullion retail, showroom and vault Friday 1 August 2014 with many industry representatives being present. Guest of Honor for the opening ceremony was the Swedish charge d’affaires to Singapore Ms. Karin Öhman also helping with the ribbon cutting ceremony.Below follows a transcript from Mr. Persson’s speech from the opening ceremony... Continue Reading

BullionStar’s Torgny Persson on Asia's Gold Market

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar’s CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson, was recently interviewed by Mr. Sunny Pannu of Minaurum.com on his views of the Asian gold market. The interview can be found here. Mr. Persson touches specifically on the development of the Chinese and Singaporean gold markets Published: 30-07-2014 02:25 BullionStar’s CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson, was recently interviewed by Mr. Sunny Pannu... Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 998 MT YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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Demand In Week 28 Low At 25 MT According to the SGE reports published every friday on the previous trading week, Chinese wholesale gold demand year to date, as measured by SGE withdrawals, came in at 998 metric tonnes at the end of July 11 – at the time of writing it surely has passed 1000 tonnes. If we … Continue Reading

India Imported 713 MT Of Silver In April, 1921 MT YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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Indian Silver Demand Strong As Gold Is Curbed Precious metals analysts have received a few gifts from the authorities this year. In January the Swiss Customs Administration (SCA) decided to disclose their gold trade data country specific (previously only the total import and export numbers of bullion were available), also in January British customs (HMRC) decided to add … Continue Reading

Is BullionStar’s Bitcoin Idea as Good as Gold?

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• BullionStar
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Bullionstar’s forray in allowing investors to trade Bitcoin for precious metals was featured in E27 – Asia’s leading resource platform for innovation-led businesses. Continue Reading

ICBC: A New Global Currency Regime Is Being Conceived

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• Koos Jansen

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The Chinese Perspective On The International Gold Market At the LBMA Bullion Market Forum in Singapore on June 25, 2014, two very important speakers attended; Xu Luode, chairman of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and Zhou Ming, General Manager of the Precious Metals Department at ICBC. Me and Torgny Persson have written about the speeches from Xu and Zhou in previous posts, in … Continue Reading

How Long Will People Trust Fiat Money?

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• Koos Jansen

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On The Essence Of Exchange Rates I had an interesting conversation with a central banker a couple of days ago. He’s a friend of a friend and works at the Dutch central bank – will be working at the ECB next month. I invited him for drinks to ask him about banking in general and the … Continue Reading

Does Wall Street See That The Emporer's Not Wearing Clothes?

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• Koos Jansen

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Written by Chris Marcus, Arcadia Economics. There are several aspects about working in today’s financial industry that are less than perfect, although gaining an insight into how many on Wall Street think and why they make the decisions that they do is certainly one of the positives. In fact what many on the outside often … Continue Reading

Guest Post: Holding Metals in a Post-Western World

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• Koos Jansen

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Written by roguefaction A recent Chairman of that private corporation in control of the finances – perhaps even, the destiny – of the USA for the past 100 years, famously referred to the yellow metal as “a barbarous relic”. Although this Ph’d prophet of policy-managed markets has hardly been a fount of wisdom in the … Continue Reading

Torgny Persson's Passport to Freedom 2014 Presentation

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• BullionStar
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“Passport to Freedom" Conference 2014 concluded with a blast in Las Vegas on the 25th Jan 2014! The much sought-after three days’ conference from the 23rd to 25th January 2014 was well-attended by participants from all over the world! Invited as a speaker, CEO Torgny Persson delivered an awesome, informative session on : “How to … Continue Reading

Guest Post: Are The Chinese Ghost Cities Really Empty?

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• Koos Jansen

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“China is the most talked about, but the least understood", was recently being said on CNBC. I fully agree – from what I know of the Chinese gold market. Western reporting on China swings from the most powerful economy after the US, that will soon take pole position, to the biggest financial bubble on the face … Continue Reading

BullionStar’s New Shop Opens in Singapore

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar’s new one-stop-shop for bullion is opening Monday 14 July 11:00 am. Location: 45 New Bridge Road New Bullion Showroom, Retail Shop & Vault – All in one location! With the move we will no longer have any operations in Marina Bay Financial Center Tower 2. More information will follow shortly. Continue Reading

We've Scored 8/10 at Bullion Reviews Singapore!

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• BullionStar
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A big thanks to our customers on their great reviews of BullionStar on Bullion Reviews Singapore! Find out how we managed to score a high score of 8 upon 10. Continue Reading

Bullionstar Featured on Channel News Asia

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar was featured on Channel News Asia on the demand of precious metals – Silver and Gold! Continue Reading

Bitcoin Bullion Dealers Seek Asian Market Entrance

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• BullionStar
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BullionStar’s CEO was intereviewed by leading alternative currency news portal, Coindesk, for being the first bullion dealer in Asia to offer Bitcoin payment for purchasing physical precious metals. Continue Reading

BullionStar Founder Torgny Persson in The Straits Times

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• BullionStar
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Singapore’s main newspaper interviews BullionStar’s CEO on his thoughts on precious metals. BullionStar CEO Mr Torgny Persson had his interview with Singapore’s main newspaper, The Straits Times, published on 25th May. In the 2-page interview in the Invest section titled ‘Taking a shine to gold and silver’, Mr Persson recounted the reasons why he chose... Continue Reading

Gold Price Manipulation Goes Mainstream On German TV

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• Koos Jansen

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Public TV channel 3sat, which is a cooperation between Germany, Austria and Switzerland, broadcasted a short documentary on gold price manipulation on May 9, 2014. More and more mainstream news outlets are covering the allegedly gold price manipulation, after evidence is pilling up and many other market manipulations, like LIBOR, are coming out. From the Financial Times February 23,... Continue Reading

Chinese Gold Demand 694 MT YTD, Silver In Backwardation

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• Koos Jansen

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Total Chinese wholesale gold demand year to date reached 694 metric tonnes in week 18 (28-4-2014/30-4-2014), annualized 2004 tonnes. During that week 23 metric tonnes of gold were withdrawn from the vaults of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) in only three days! The SGE was closed on May 1 and 2. If the SGE would have been open for … Continue Reading

China's Are Tentacles Reaching All Over The Globe

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• Koos Jansen

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This week Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits four African nations, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya, to boost ties with Africa where Chinese direct investments reached $25 billion in 2013, up 44 per cent from 2008, according to the BRICS post. Li will also meet African Union leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Chinese vice-minister for foreign affairs, Zhang Ming, told … Continue Reading

India Imports 32 Tonnes Of Gold In February

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• Koos Jansen

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Without further ado here are the official trade numbers from the DGCIS. INDIA IMPORTED 32 TONNES IN FEBRUARY. Gold premiums provided by Nick Laird from sharelynx.com. SILVER GROSS IMPORT WAS 486 TONNES. YTD 920 TONNES OF SILVER, ANNUALIZED 5520 TONNES. In Gold We Trust Continue Reading