Spread between Shanghai gold price and London hit a record $121/oz. last Thursday. It had narrowed to $76 on Monday after PBOC People's Bank of China relaxed curbs on imports last week.
The disconnect has remained wide as some of the world's largest banks, which are also the top gold dealers, have grown wary. Even though there is now plenty of time to get metal to New York for June delivery, the wild moves of recent weeks, and the potential for coronavirus-induced logistical headaches, have increased the perceived riskiness of trading the two markets.
"I would guess that the risk managers are not allowing these big positions to be run," said John Reade, chief market strategist at the World Gold Council. "It's moved from a concern about availability and transferability of metal to one of risk appetite."
Gold worth $37 billion traded in London each day, new data shows
Peter Hobson
3-4 minutes
LONDON
(Reuters) - Members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) traded at least 30.2 million ounces of gold worth $36.9 billion each day last week, the LBMA said on Tuesday, presenting new data that gives the most accurate picture yet of the London market.
FILE
PHOTO: Gold bullion is displayed at Hatton Garden Metals precious metal dealers in London, Britain July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Neil Hall
London is a global gold trading hub but most transactions are made in over-the-counter trades between banks, brokers and dealers who have been reluctant to reveal their activity.
With regulators pushing for greater transparency, LBMA members have begun reporting trades that
settle in London and Zurich, another trading center closely connected to London.
“For the first time in the long history of the London gold market its size is not guesswork but a reliable measurement,” Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said in a note accompanying the LBMA
figures.
According to the LBMA, its members last week traded 95 million ounces of gold in spot contracts, 46.5 million ounces in swaps and forward contracts, 4.1 million ounces in options and 5.4 million
ounces in leases, loans and deposits.
That gives a daily average total of 30.2 million ounces - or 939 tonnes, the equivalent of 74 London double-decker busses.
