BullionStar Blogs

BullionStar is interviewed by the Wall Street Journal

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• BullionStar
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We are interviewed by the Wall Street Journal on the demand for silver coins demand in Asia. Continue Reading

West to East Gold Distribution Update

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• Koos Jansen

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The great distribution of wealth and power, facilitated by gold, from west to east is still going strong. From looking at available global trade numbers we know the main gold vein runs from the UK through Switzerland, through Hong Kong, eventually reaching Shanghai. Let’s take a look at the latest data. Starting Point: The London Gold Vaults It started … Continue Reading

The Chinese Leaders Behind Their Gold Rush

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• Koos Jansen

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In part four of Jan Skoyles and Koos Jansen’s look into China’s gold market they turn their attentions to the individuals behind the moves to get China investing in gold. In our superb infographic we highlight the top ten. Read on to find out more about these individuals and some of their contemporaries. In recent months we have been looking into the … Continue Reading

Gold and The Monetary System: The US–EU Conflict

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• Koos Jansen

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For anyone who is still in doubt if the US have been suppressing the price of gold in the past decades, this article might change your mind. I present a memo written in 1974 by Sidney Weintraub, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance and Development, to Paul Volcker, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs. It was originally published in Document... Continue Reading

Mainstream Media Reports On SGE Physical Delivery

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• Koos Jansen

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Although I can’t track all media on Shanghai Gold Exchange coverage – maybe they report more on it than I know – but as far as I know the big guys wrote about SGE physical delivery twice now. Bloomberg, 15 July 2013: The Shanghai Gold Exchange supplied 1,098 metric tons in the six months through June, compared with … Continue Reading

Dutch & German Food Delivery Service Accepts Bitcoin

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• Koos Jansen

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Takeaway.com, a website through which customers can order food from thousands of restaurants, has subsidiaries in 10 different countries. As of yesterday, 5 November 2013, payments at three of these subsidiaries can be made in Bitcoin; in The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. From now on everyday food purchases can be payed in Bitcoin in these countries. The Dutch … Continue Reading

Greater China Net Gold Import 1316 Tons YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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In September the mainland net imported 109 tons of gold from Hong Kong, down from 110 tons in August, – 1% m/m, year to date net import is 826 tons. Annualized mainland net import through Hong Kong is 1101 tons, a surge of 109 % as total import in 2012 was 525 tons. Note, the mainland … Continue Reading

The Wall Street Code

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• Koos Jansen

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How A Quant Found Out The True Workings Of Stock Exchanges In my opinion the best TV program in the Netherlands is Tegenlicht, an excellent documentary series often about the abuses in the world of finance. Yesterday evening, yes I stayed home for this, the episode was about High Frequency Trading (HFT). Star of the … Continue Reading

Professor Yu Yongding On Gold

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• Koos Jansen

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Professor Yu Yongding is, in short, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Editor-in-Chief, China and World Economy (1998- ), Member of Advisory Committee of National Planning of the National Development and Reform Committee of the PRC (2004- ), Member of Advisory Committee of Foreign Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC (2010- ), and he was,... Continue Reading

Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery Week 43

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• Koos Jansen

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Physical gold withdrawn from the SGE vaults was 33 tons last weeks (21-10-2013/25-10-2013), down 18 % from a week earlier. Premiums also came down, on 21 October the price of gold (Au99.95) on the SGE was 0,8 % over the international price, on 25 October it was 0,09 %. This is remarkable because premiums in … Continue Reading

PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan On Gold

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• Koos Jansen

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The next quotes are from a speech that Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank Of China from 2002 till present, gave at the LBMA conference in 2004. Give Full Play to the Gold Market’s Investment and Hedging Functions The establishment and development of China’s gold market marks the basic completion of the construction of … Continue Reading

Central Banks Bullish On Gold At LBMA Conference

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• Koos Jansen

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At the LBMA conference in Rome earlier this month there were a number of representatives from central banks that gave an interesting keynote speech. Namely: – Salvatore Rossi, Deputy Governor, Banca d’Italia – Alexandre Gautier, Director of Market Operations Department, Banque de France – Juan Ignacio Basco, Deputy General Manager, Central Bank of Argentina... Continue Reading

Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery 1750 Tons YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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The SGE is on track to deliver 2125 tons of gold this year in total. This would be 87 % more than in 2012.   Continue Reading

Week 42 SGE Physical Delivery and Its True Context

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• Koos Jansen

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When I speak of physical delivery at the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), I mean gold that is withdrawn from the vaults – the SGE is an exceptional exchange because it publishes these numbers. Technically, “Delivery" is a misnomer by me (and the SGE). On all other futures exchanges “delivery" actually means the amount of gold … Continue Reading

Switzerland Has Never Exported This Much Gold

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• Koos Jansen

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Four of the largest gold refineries on earth are located in Switzerland, being Metalor, Pamp, Argor-Heraeus and Valcambi. It’s estimated 70 % of the world’s refining is done near the Alps, therefor massive amounts of gold are distributed here; Switzerland has imported 808 tons of gold in the third quarter of 2013, and exported 680 tons in … Continue Reading

1974 Meeting European Ministers Of Finance On Gold

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• Koos Jansen

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This one I had to share, a report on a meeting held by all European Ministers of Finance about gold, written to the American Ministry Of Foreign Affairs in 1974: FOLLOWING IS TEXT OF STATEMENT MADE TO C-20 DEPUTIES’ MEETING ON MAY 7 BY DUTCH TREASURER-GENERAL OORT RE ZEIST MEETING OF EC FINANCE MINISTERS APRIL … Continue Reading

Analyze This!

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• Koos Jansen

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A few weeks ago I was researching UK gold trade data on the Eurostat website when I stumble upon something quite remarkable, or not. When I looked at the 2008 numbers on trade between the UK and Germany I saw a few unusual spikes. In August 2008 the UK imported 613.9 tons from Germany, in … Continue Reading

Week 41 Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery

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• Koos Jansen

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Today the SGE published trading numbers from last week. The Chinese are not slowing down their physical gold purchases this year. Although the 2013 weekly SGE delivery record stands at 117 tons, last weeks physical delivery was 47 tons, which is above the yearly average of 41.7 tons. We saw a little rise in the … Continue Reading

GOFO Nosedive, 1, 2 , and 3 Months Turn Negative

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• Koos Jansen

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This week premiums for spot gold in India surged to $100 an ounce. This could have resulted in a shortage of physical gold on the LBMA, where GOFO rates of 1, 2 and 3 months turned negative as of today. Continue Reading

India July Silver Imports High At 797 Tons, YTD 3942 Tons

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• Koos Jansen

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The results of India’s import duty on gold – that went up in January from 4% to 6 %, in June to 8 % and in August to 10 % – are obvious. Premiums have risen, “official" gold import has dropped significantly since June (shrinking the country’s trade deficit to a 30-month low in September) and silver import has … Continue Reading

China Already Has The Gold Pricing Basis

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• Koos Jansen

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Article from the China Gold Association (CGA) on China’s gold pricing power, translated by Soh Tiong Hum: China Already Has The Gold Pricing Basis Published :2012-02-15 Since June 2008 there’s a financial crisis wherein gold prices soaring from less than USD 1000 per ounce to the current USD 1700 per ounce are a microcosm of … Continue Reading

Biggest Economic Power Shift In Decades

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• Koos Jansen

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2013 is the year wherein unprecedented amounts of physical gold are distributed from west to east; a shift in wealth and power not seen in decades. An overview, based on trade data from January till August, of the gold routes to China: The majority of the gold that is being shipped to the east springs … Continue Reading

Mainland & Hong Kong Net Gold Import Jan-Aug 1154 Tons

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• Koos Jansen

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Although the price of gold has not been able to remain north of $1400 in August, the Chinese continued accumulating gold throughout the month in order to ‘store wealth among the people‘. When looking at data from the Hong Kong Census And Statistics Department extraordinary large amounts of gold were imported by Hong Kong as … Continue Reading

Run on the Fed Highlights the Importance of Gold Reserves

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• Koos Jansen

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In order to strengthen the Chinese economy and protect it from external shocks the Chinese government has been stimulating its people to buy physical gold since 2001. Although they have been buying massive amounts of gold in the last years, their grams per capita still stands far lower than the global average. My lowest estimate is 4.3 … Continue Reading

Week 39 Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery

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• Koos Jansen

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I was very delighted yesterday that me and Jan Skoyles published the second part of our collaboration. A fantastic overview of the Chinese gold market. Watch out next week for the sequels! Now let’s rush to last weeks SGE delivery numbers.Shanghai Gold Exchange – 50 metric tonnes delivered in week 39 (left the SGE vaults), 23-09-2013/28-09-2013 – … Continue Reading

The History of the Chinese Gold Market

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• Koos Jansen

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I’m very proud and excited to announce a collaboration between me and Jan Skoyles from The Real Asset Company. Today part one: Tracing The Great Chinese Gold Rush. In oncoming parts we will inform you on every detail of Chinese gold market, in example gold trade, the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the OTC … Continue Reading

Shanghai Gold Physical Delivery vs. Mining vs. Import

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• Koos Jansen

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In the first seven months of this year total physical gold withdrawn from the 49 vaults of the Shanghai Gold Exchange was 1333 tons. Chinese domestic mining in this period was 231 tons and net import through Hong Kong 607 tons. Scrap supply couldn’t have been more that 150 tons, which means 345 tons had … Continue Reading

Gold Held in China

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• Koos Jansen

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The other day I saw a chart in a video from Mike Maloney on how much gold we know is held in China. It inspired me to make my own version of it. I have trade data from Hong Kong through which we know how much gold goes in and out of the mainland – … Continue Reading

Building a Strong Economic Security Barrier for China

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• Koos Jansen

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Presenting another translation of an article from one of the leaders in the Chinese gold industry. The original version appeared on 1 August 2012 in Qiushi magazine, the main academic journal of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee. Sun Zhaoxue is the president of China National Gold Corporation, China’s biggest mining company. He is also president of the … Continue Reading

Week 37 Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs world mining production. By @KoosJansen Shanghai Gold Exchange – 42 metric tonnes delivered in week 37 (left the SGE vaults), 09-09-2013/13-09-2013 – w/w – 10.3 %- 1588 metric tonnes delivered year to date – weekly average 43 tonnes YTD, 2013 estimate yearly total 2189 tonnes. Source: SGE, USGS... Continue Reading

Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery = Chinese Demand

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• Koos Jansen

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Year to date physical delivery on the Shanghai Gold Exchange stands at 1546 tons. Apart from an article on Bloomberg there has been little coverage in the mainstream media on this extreme amount of physical gold that is being sold in China, nor do they report on unusual high gold export from the UK to … Continue Reading

India Imported 3145 Tons of Silver In H1 2013

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• Koos Jansen

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In January 2013 India’s central bank, the RBI, raised gold’s import duty from 4% to 6 %, in June to 8 % and in August to 10 %. Another rule came into life on July 22 which made it mandatory for shippers to set aside 20 percent of shipments for re-export. All this policy has finally engendered some results; gold … Continue Reading

There Is Way More Gold Going Into China Than Is Reported

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• Koos Jansen

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This is a small part of the conversation I had with Alex Stanczyk on 4 September. This part is mostly on China. Continue Reading

The US Net Exported +1500 tons To The UK 1999 – July 2013

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• Koos Jansen

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Based on data declared by the UK more than 1500 tons of gold was net imported by the UK from the US, from January 1999 till July 2013. (from 1999 – 2012 it was 1468 tons)   Continue Reading

August SGE vs. COMEX Chart

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• Koos Jansen

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Monthly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs COMEX vs world mining . By @KoosJansen SGE – 165.6 metric tonnes delivered in August (left the SGE vaults) – m/m – 29.65 % – 1499.3 metric tonnes delivered year to date (January – August) COMEX – 12.7 metric tonnes delivered in August – 146.7 metric tonnes delivered year to... Continue Reading

Week 36 SGE Chart

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs world mining production. By @KoosJansen Shanghai Gold Exchange – 47 metric tonnes delivered in week 36 (left the SGE vaults), 02-09-2013/06-09-2013 – w/w + 28.33 % – 1546 metric tonnes delivered year to date – weekly average 43 tonnes YTD, 2013 estimate yearly total 2190 tonnes. Source: SGE,... Continue Reading

Stanczyk: There Is Way More Gold Going Into China Than Is Reported

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• Koos Jansen

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Last week I had the privilege to talk to Alex Stanczyk, Chief Market Strategist for the Anglo Far- East group of companies. Below a few quotes – Alex also has a military background so that’s where we started. Do you think there is going to be a war in Syria? I hope not, but it’s possible. There is an old saying, … Continue Reading

The UK’s Gold Exodus Continues

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• Koos Jansen

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The UK Net Exported 201 Tons Of Gold In July, YTD 1018 Tons. UK gold export increased in July compared to June. After net exporting 145 tons in June, gold trade soared and hit a m/m growth of 39 % to 201 tons in July, according to Eurostat. The gold that is been exported by the … Continue Reading

Did China Know That Gold Was About to Drop in April?

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• Koos Jansen

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In April the price of gold made its biggest one-day percentage drop in 30 years, it fell 9% starting a bear trend that hit an intra-day price of $1180 in June. In reaction Asian demand for physical gold since the price drop in April exploded. Shanghai Gold Exchange physical delivery was 117 tons in week 17, dating … Continue Reading

July Chinese Gold Trade Charts

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• Koos Jansen

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Today new data came out from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. This data covers Hong Kong import, export and re-export of goods to July 2013. All of the charts about Chinese and Hong Kong gold trade we publish on this blog are based on these data sets. For clarity, these charts are all based on trade … Continue Reading

Gold Leasing Is A Tool For The Global Credit Game

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• Koos Jansen

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Below a translation of an article on gold price suppression by global finance expert Zhang Jie, published on April 15, 2013. We have posted a Google Translate version of this article on August 13, but because of the significance of the insights of the writer we searched for real translators to make it into a more clear and understandable … Continue Reading

Week 33 SGE Chart

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs world mining production. By @KoosJansen Shanghai Gold Exchange – 39 metric tonnes delivered in week 33 (left the SGE vaults), 16-08-2013/20-08-2013 – w/w – 0.38 % – 1463 metric tonnes delivered year to dateSource: SGE, USGS For more information on SGE deliveries read this. Premiums based on the... Continue Reading

The UK Net Exported 817 Tons of Gold YTD

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• Koos Jansen

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As I was scrolling through some european trade numbers I found these astonishing gold exports from the UK. Before I make a few long term charts on UK total gold trade (and from which countries this gold comes from and is been sent to), I just wanted to share the most important one. The UK, … Continue Reading

India’s Gold Import Reaches 165 Tons in May

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• Koos Jansen

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India has a love for gold but the country has no goldmines, all demand has to be satisfied by import. Gold is their second biggest import after oil. Due to a growing trade deficit and a weakening Rupee the RBI (India’s central bank) is desperate to curb gold’s luster. In January they raised gold’s import … Continue Reading

Switzerland Precious Metals Trade Charts H1 2013

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• Koos Jansen

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Swiss precious metals trade (PM), gold and silver, trade data from 2002 – Q2 2013. Unfortunately Switzerland only publishes total precious metals trade numbers, so we don’t know where every Kg ends up. Customs employees did tell me this could change next year! For the gold chart I used HS codes: Google Translate: – 71081200 Gold, including … Continue Reading

Does the UK Supply the Shanghai Gold Exchange? Part 2

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• Koos Jansen

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Last week we learned UK gold exports to Switzerland were to 797t in the first six months of 2013. In Part 1 I speculated on the possibility if this gold eventually ends up in China.   For decades Switzerland has been a major gold trading hub and it has an unprecedented refining capacity. “In an average year Switzerland refines … Continue Reading

Week 32 SGE Chart

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs world mining production. By @KoosJansen Shanghai Gold Exchange – 39 metric tonnes delivered in week 32 (left the SGE vaults), 12-08-2013/16-08-2013 – w/w + 4.93 % – 1424 metric tonnes delivered year to date Source: SGE, USGS For more information on SGE deliveries read this.   Premiums based on... Continue Reading

Does the UK Supply the Shanghai Gold Exchange?

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• Koos Jansen

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A quick calculation on where SGE deliveries might come from. If we take the delivery numbers from January to June of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, we see that 1098t left the vaults in those six months. Where does this gold come from?   The SGE states that all Chinese domestic gold mining companies and all Chinese … Continue Reading

A First Look at the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange

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• Koos Jansen

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“Hong Kong was a traditional trading hub for gold in the past decades" Director General of the The People’s Bank of China Mr. Xie Duo, 2012. A little known Asian precious metals hub is the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange (CGSE) located at 12-18 Mercer street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It opened it’s doors in 1910 and until today it … Continue Reading

Week 31 SGE Chart

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• Koos Jansen

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Weekly chart physical gold delivered on the Shanghai Gold Exchange vs world mining production. By @KoosJansen – 37 metric tonnes delivered in week 31 (left the SGE vaults) – w/w -11.31 % – 1385 metric tonnes delivered year to date Source: SGE, USGS For more information on SGE deliveries read this. Continue Reading