Gold hits record high above $2,400 amid China's buying, geopolitical tensions

April 13, 2024 (MLN): International gold rose above $2,400 per ounce and recorded a new all-time high on Friday as geopolitical tensions and China’s economic concerns continued to uplift demand for the safe haven asset.

It is crucial to note that during today’s trading session, an intraday peak of $2,431.59 was witnessed at 2:00 pm PST.

Spot gold closed at $2,343.65, up 0.59% this week and on track to book its fourth consecutive weekly win.

This takes the metal’s 6-month gain to 25.98%, marking one of the best half-years in history.

The Middle East conflicts that began in October 2023 have generated a significant upside for the yellow metal and as these issues are escalating, they continue to exert a bullish impact.

Adding further to gains, China’s step to build its reserves of gold, a key talk of the financial market currently, is resulting in the metal breaking and setting new all-time highs.

China’s reserve data for March showed that the country held 72.74 million fine troy ounces of gold, up from 72.58m ounces at the end of February, the 17th straight month of increase.

This amounts to around $161 billion worth of gold reserves, as against $148.64bn held a month earlier.

Chinese government sought refuge in gold due to rising tensions in the real estate sector, a depreciating yuan, and a drop in the stock market resulting from recent economic woes.

Last month, the yuan depreciated by 0.47% against the dollar, while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the value of the greenback against other major currencies strengthened by 0.38%.

Moreover, Fitch Ratings, one of the "Big Three credit rating agencies" has also raised alarms over China, revising its Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) outlook to Negative from Stable.

The Outlook revision reflects increasing risks to China's public finance outlook as the country contends with more uncertain economic prospects amid a transition away from property-reliant growth to what the government views as a more sustainable growth model.

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