CHINA April 20 2015 3:47 PM
LONDON (Scrap Register): ABN AMRO expects Chinese demand for gold and precious metals to rise further in the coming years, although the anti-corruption campaign may temporarily distort long-term trends.
According to the Dutch Bank, the rise in average wealth levels will support the demand for luxury products including jewellery, helping imports of gold, silver, platinum and precious stones.
For palladium and platinum, ABN AMRO anticipates that the expected ongoing rise in auto production and sales will continue to support Chinese imports.
Recently, China has been rebalancing its exports and public spending-led growth model towards a more long-term sustainable alternative, marked by a rising share of private consumption. According to the economists, the ongoing rebalancing already is having a negative impact on industrial metal imports with the exception of iron ore.
The New Silk Road plan and ongoing urbanisation and regional development and the rise of consumption of cars and electrical devices are supporting factors. On balance, ABN AMRO expects lower growth of industrial metal imports and from time to time even import compression.
