Global gold demand up 3 pct in Q1

Global gold demand, including over-the-counter (OTC) purchases, increased by 3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2024 to 1,238 tons, marking the strongest first quarter since 2016, according to a report released by the World Gold Council on Tuesday.

The report revealed that gold jewelry consumption declined by 2 percent to 479 tons, but remained above the five-year average for the first quarter at 465 tons. Conversely, gold bar and coin demand surged by 3 percent to 312.3 tons.

"In the first quarter, the biggest gold market growth came from retail investment, primarily in gold coins and bars. This growth is not only seen in developed countries but also in emerging economies," said Wang Lixin, CEO of the World Gold Council China.

Wang also highlighted the notable increase in gold demand for technology applications, which typically experiences growth of around 1-2 percent annually.

"We observed a growth of over 10 percent in gold demand in the technology sector this quarter, mainly driven by artificial intelligence," added Wang.

The reports says healthy investment from the OTC market, persistent central bank buying, and higher demand from Asian buyers, helped drive the gold price to a record quarterly average of 2,070 U.S. dollars per ounce, which was 10 percent higher year on year and 5 percent higher quarter-on-quarter.

Additionally, global central banks increased their gold reserves by 290 tons in the first quarter, a one percent year-on-year growth and a 69 percent increase compared to the five-year quarterly average. This marks the highest first-quarter data since 2000.

The report also noted a gradual diversification in Chinese gold demand during the first quarter, despite the high gold prices in March.

Data shows that gold jewelry consumption in the Chinese market decreased by 6 percent year on year to 184 tons in the first quarter, while the demand for gold bars and coins reached 110 tons, representing a significant 68 percent rise year on year increase.

Furthermore, the report reveals that the People's Bank of China continued its gold purchases. By the end of the first quarter, China's official gold reserves reached 2,262 tons, increasing by 27 tons compared to the previous quarter.

Currently, gold accounts for 4.6 percent of China's total official foreign exchange reserves, reaching its highest historical level.

Global gold demand up 3 pct in Q1

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's service outsourcing industry saw robust expansion in the first four months of this year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

Chinese firms inked services outsourcing contracts worth a total of some 781.43 billion yuan (about 110 billion U.S. dollars) in the four-month period, up 14.4 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

The executed contract value stood at 520.51 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.9 percent.

Of the total, the value of offshore service outsourcing contracts rose 8.6 percent year on year to 419.04 billion yuan.

Specifically, the value of offshore information technology outsourcing (ITO) services provided by Chinese companies jumped by 10.9 percent from a year earlier.

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the United States and the European Union ranked the top three markets in terms of the fulfilled contract value of offshore outsourcing service, accounting for 54 percent of the total.

Chinese firms undertook nearly 80 billion yuan(about 14.93 billion U.S. dollars) worth of offshore service outsourcing contracts that were fulfilled with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, up 24 percent from a year ago, while the offshore outsourcing services for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries totaled 73.26 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent year on year.

Outsourcing refers to hiring an outside party to carry out services or produce goods typically undertaken by in-house employees. In China, service outsourcing is typically divided into three sectors: information technology outsourcing, business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing.

In the January-April period, the service outsourcing industry welcomed about 301,000 new hires, with 84.7 percent of these individuals holding a bachelor's degree or above. The sector had over 16.17 million employees at the end of April, among whom some 10.56 million were graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher.

China's service outsourcing industry reports robust expansion