On Feb 16^th, according to the World Gold Council’s data indicates, China's gold imports surged 64 percent last year, which is the highest level since 2018 . 

China's gold imports rebounded strongly in the second half of last year as the epidemic control measures improved, with 1,343 tons, up 64 percent year on year and the highest level since 2018, the World Gold Council said on Wednesday.

As the world's largest gold consumer, China's gold consumption rebounded strongly after its quarantine policies were optimized, with imports reaching 157 tons in December, the World Gold Council said. This strong rebound continued till January. Chinese gold consumption rose 18 percent in the 15 days from the Chinese New Year to the Lantern Festival.

The World Gold Council also said the Shanghai Gold Exchange extracted 140 tonnes of gold in January, down 25 per cent from the same period last year. The decrease in the extraction volume was mainly affected by the Spring Festival holiday. Under the Chinese New Year holiday effects, January had only 16 trading days,which lead to the lowest level since 2012. Excluding the impact, gold withdrawals in January were 12% higher than the average over the past decade.

The association is optimistic that if the rebound in China's gold market continues through 2023, it will drive overall global gold demand higher.

Previous data showed global gold demand rose 18 per cent to 4,741 tonnes in 2022, the highest in 11 years. In response, the World Gold Council said that gold demand in 2022 was comparable to that in 2011, when "gold investment demand was extremely strong".

The People's Bank of China increased its holdings of gold by 970,000 ounces to 64.64 million ounces in December for the second month in a row. Previously, the central bank increased its gold holdings by 1.03 million ounces to 63.67 million ounces in November, which is the first increase since October 2019. This is the first time the central bank’s total gold reserves have exceeded 2,000 tonnes.