India extracted 300 tonnes of gold from Switzerland this year

India imported 58.5 tonnes of gold from Switzerland in the month of September, bringing the total for the first nine months of this year to 305 tonnes of gold. This makes India the largest buyer of gold from Switzerland. Hong Kong imported 24.7 tonnes of gold from Switzerland in September, bringing the total for this year to 264.7 tonnes. China imported a modest volume of 12 tonnes of gold from Switzerland last month, bringing total imports from January to September to a volume of 109.9 tonnes of gold.

The figures come from the Swiss Customs, which provides a monthly overview of the total imports and exports of precious metals. This data is relevant because Switzerland is internationally seen as an important hub for the global gold market. The country has gained a reputation over the centuries as a safe haven for wealth, including precious metals. It is therefore not surprising that a lot of melting and storage capacity is concentrated in this alpine state.

Hollandgold analyzed the figures of the Swiss customs and made an overview of the ten countries that have withdrawn the most gold from the Swiss gold vaults this year and of the ten countries that have brought the most gold to Switzerland. The charts confirm the trend that has been set in motion for several years, namely the shift of physical gold from 'West' to 'East'.

Gold continues to flow to Asia

In the top ten countries that import the most gold from Switzerland, there are a striking number of Asian countries, namely India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. Since the beginning of this year, Switzerland has already sent hundreds of tons of physical gold to these Asian countries, a significant development. Saudi Arabia also appears to be interested in gold, as this oil state imported 93.5 tonnes of gold from Switzerland in the first nine months of this year.

The countries that supply the gold vaults in Switzerland are predominantly in the 'West'. With an export volume of 422.6 tonnes, the United Kingdom has been by far number one since the beginning of this year. This is not surprising when you consider that a large amount of gold is also stored in London. In second and third place are Chile and the United States with net exports of 145.7 and 140.4 tonnes of gold for the first nine months of this year. South America appears to be an important supplier of precious metals, because in addition to Chile, countries such as Argentina and Peru are also on the list. These two countries have already exported 85.2 and 76.5 tonnes of gold to Switzerland respectively this year.