Cassiar Gold Corp. (TSXV: GLDC, OTCQX: CGLCF)
Revitalizing the Cassiar Gold District in British Columbia, Canada
During the annual Chinese New Year period, factors such as market closures during the holiday, changes in consumer buying demand, and promotional activities by merchants typically lead to fluctuations in China’s gold market. Regarding the gold market’s performance during this year’s Chinese New Year, Ray Jia, Research Head of China at the World Gold Council (WGC), noted that the trends observed at the end of last year are highly instructive.
The WGC’s outlook is straightforward: Looking ahead, Ray Jia stated that the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday (spanning January 28 to February 4 this year) is expected to boost gold jewelry consumption. At the same time, falling government bond yields, a weakening local currency—driven by heightened expectations for further rate cuts to stimulate the economy and concerns regarding rising U.S. tariffs—are likely to continue supporting investment demand for gold.
This forecast, however, does not rely solely on the seasonal factor of the Chinese New Year but also reflects trends in the Chinese gold market observed in December and over the longer term.
In September 2024, Marco Roque, President, CEO, and Director of the Canadian gold exploration company Cassiar Gold Corp. (TSXV: GLDC, OTCQX: CGLCF), stated in an interview with Metals 100 that the company continues drilling at the Taurus Deposit in Cassiar North. Roque shared updates on the progress of the exploration activities at the Cassiar Gold Property and induced polarization (IP) survey coverage.
For example, the latest WGC report on China reveals that the gold price spread between Shanghai and London widened significantly in December. The gold price in RMB, represented by the Shanghai Gold Price Benchmark (SHAUPM), rose slightly by 0.1%, while the gold price in USD fell by 2%, with exchange rates playing a crucial role. Jia explained that the surge in global geopolitical risks and sustained central bank gold purchases drove gold prices higher, with RMB-priced gold rising 28% in 2024, slightly outperforming the 27% increase in USD-priced gold.
Looking further into 2025, Jia believes that the depreciation of the RMB against the USD will further boost RMB-denominated gold prices.
However, the overall performance of China’s wholesale gold market in 2024 was lackluster. Total gold withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) amounted to 1,455 tons for the year, down 15% compared to 2023 and 22% below the 10-year average. Fortunately, demand for wholesale gold in China improved in late December as stocking activities picked up ahead of the upcoming sales season. Total gold withdrawals from the SGE rose to 122 tons in December, a 24% increase compared to November.
While gold jewelry consumption in China remained sluggish, investment demand—particularly for gold ETFs—remained robust.
Data shows that Chinese gold ETFs attracted record inflows of RMB 31 billion (USD 4.4 billion) in 2024. Total assets under management (AUM) surged by 150%, while holdings increased by 87% (53 tons) during the year. This trend showed no signs of slowing at the end of the year, with December alone seeing inflows of RMB 4.5 billion and an increase in holdings by 7.5 tons.
Finally, the end of the year also marked a resurgence in demand from China’s central bank. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced consecutive gold purchases in November and December, adding 5 tons and 10 tons, respectively. China’s official gold reserves now stand at 2,280 tons, accounting for a record 5.5% of total foreign exchange reserves. However, this figure remains relatively low by international standards, suggesting that increasing gold holdings remains a long-term direction for the central bank.
In summary, the outlook for China’s gold market during the Chinese New Year sees support from rising jewelry consumption and continued strong investment demand, against the backdrop of weakening government bond yields, currency depreciation, and broader economic uncertainties.
