China's February net gold imports fall over 51 percent

China's net gold imports via Hong Kong fell about 51.1% in February, compared with the previous month, as the coronavirus outbreak stalled activity in the country, data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department showed on Thursday.
Net imports via Hong Kong to China, the world's top consumer of the metal, fell to 4.567 tonnes from 9.342 tonnes in January, the data showed. Total gold imports via Hong Kong fell 65% to 5.092 tonnes from 14.532 tonnes in January.
The reduction in imports is due to the lockdown in February, which muted 90% of activities at least for half a month across the entire country (China), said Samson Li, Hong Kong-based precious metals analyst at Refinitiv GFMS. The Hong Kong data may not provide a complete picture of Chinese purchases as gold is also imported via Shanghai and Beijing.