LONDON- Swiss gold exports rose last year to their highest since 2018 as demand for bullion in China and India, the biggest consumer markets, recovered from a collapse early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Swiss customs data showed.

The coronavirus crisis upended the bullion market in 2020, hammering jewellery sales while triggering a rush among investors to stockpile gold, which is traditionally seen as a safe place to store wealth.

Switzerland is the world's largest gold refining centre and transit hub.

Its trade data showed a 2020 plunge in exports to Asia, where most gold is sold as jewellery, and huge shipments to the United States and Britain, where investors cluster. 

In 2021 that dynamic mostly reversed.

Exports to India surged to 507 tonnes, up from 148 tonnes in 2020 and the most since 2015.

Shipments to mainland China reached to 275 tonnes, up from 30.5 tonnes in 2020 and the highest since 2018. Exports to Hong Kong rose to 79 tonnes, up from 27 tonnes in 2020 and the highest since 2018.

The data suggests a weaker demand recovery in China than in India. Between 2012, when Swiss figures became available, and 2019 Switzerland exported 400 tonnes of gold a year on average to India and about 600 tonnes a year to mainland China and Hong Kong combined.

Swiss shipments of gold to the United States fell to 113 tonnes in 2021 from 508 tonnes in 2020. Exports to Britain declined to 76 tonnes from 130 tonnes.

Following are data and comparisons.

SWISS TRADE DATA (KG)

 

ANNUAL

EXPORT (kg)

2021 1,352,761

2020 1,179,564

2019 1,189,313

MONTHLY

EXPORT (kg)

Dec-21 97,177

Nov-21 129,019

Dec-20 75,895

SHIPMENTS TO KEY MARKETS (KG)

 

ANNUAL

To China To Hong To India To To the

Kong Britain U.S. 2021 274,809 79,066 507,224 76,277 113,430 2020 30,500 26,710 147,760 130,390 507,526 2019 180,569 73,202 231,991 384,726 17,791

MONTHLY

To China To Hong To India To To the

Kong Britain U.S. Dec-21 14,500 5,761 28,307 1,034 6,326 Nov-21 39,500 6,511 38,524 346 22,095 Dec-20 0 263 34,500 265 13,842

* Source: Swiss customs. Data subject to revision by source.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson Editing by David Goodman ) ((Peter.Hobson@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 0083;))