At the same time, official statistics for individual countries, primarily China, look suspiciously modest: less than two tons in July and August and just over two tons in June. Against the background of the scale of the Chinese economy, such slow replenishment of reserves looks incredible, so few people in the market take official statistics seriously.
Société Générale experts, analyzing trade data, suggest that China's total gold purchases this year could reach about 250 tons, that is, more than a third of purchases by all central banks in the world.
Gold is more difficult to track than, for example, an oil tanker, so traders have to look for new ways to understand what is happening. For example, you can track shipments of newly cast 400-ounce bars with consecutive numbers - those that usually pass through Swiss and South African refineries, then through London and finally end up in China.
From such indirect traces, it can be seen that there is more and more official data in China. And considering that China itself is the largest producer, part of the reserves are replenished bypassing global flows altogether.
