(Bloomberg) — Chinese households’ appetite for gold has grown over the past two months as prices soften and onshore equities lose their shine, providing support at a time when bullion is testing $4,000 an ounce.
One popular contract on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, Au99.99, saw volumes jump to 43 million lots last week, or around 430 tons, the highest level since April. The contract requires the full amount to be paid and mandatory delivery, so it reflects physical demand rather than leveraged bets.
“Domestic gold demand is increasingly running against the price trend, strengthening as prices fall,” said Zijie Wu, an analyst at Jinrui Futures Co., adding festive buying through Golden Week in October was also encouraging. Lower prices, Wu added, provided “attractive entry points for long-term investors.”
Chinese consumers have snapped up much of their gold through so-called accumulation plans and similar products, low-barrier offerings that allow individual investors to buy bullion incrementally. Purchases under the schemes in the first nine months have already surpassed the 2025 full-year total, according to people working on such services at major banks.
Buying picked up speed over the last week as prices eased, they said, requesting anonymity as the figures are not public.
Gold has become an increasingly sought-after investment in China as consumers hunt for a safe haven at a time when property is slumping and returns on government bonds have hit a record low. China’s stock market has also tumbled, losing $2.4 trillion in value since hitting a peak in May.
Mainland purchases through this year have helped steady gold and largely kept the benchmark price above $4,000 an ounce — even as the US-Iran war fueled inflation concerns and rate-hike bets, factors that would normally have pushed appetite away from a non-interest-bearing asset.
The exact volumes of buying via the accumulation plans are not typically released, but gross figures from the central bank included in an April report compiled by Shanghai Gold Exchange showed that lenders sold 2,187 tons of the metal to consumers in 2025 — more than three times the amount sold a year earlier. As a gross number, that does not take into account gold that was later sold back to institutions, according to people familiar with the matter.
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