China gold demand to exceed 2,000t per year in 2-3 years

Chinese gold consumption could grow over the next two or three years to more than 2,000 tonnes per year, Frederic Panizzutti told delegates at the Dubai Precious Metals conference.

China consumed 813 tonnes of gold in 2014 but its economic growth is slowing – GDP growth last year of 7.4 percent was down from 7.7 percent in 2013, missing the government’s target of 7.5 percent and the slowest rate since 1990.

Still, MKS chief executive Panizzutti believes the country has untapped potential given that its per capita consumption rate is 0.65 grams compared with 4.94 grams in Dubai and 6.4 grams in Hong Kong.

China gold demand to exceed 2,000t per year in 2-3 years