The pricing power of the gold market is shifting to the East.
A global wave of "gold relocation" is unfolding.
Recently, the Netherlands and France have successively transported their gold reserves away from the United States, and India had previously shipped its gold back to the homeland from the US and the UK.
On the other side, Hong Kong, China and Singapore are simultaneously ramping up infrastructure in the gold market to compete for the position of Asia's gold trading hub. Meanwhile, the latest data shows that Asian markets have bought nearly 70% of the world's physical investment gold.
As gold flows eastward, will its pricing power shift eastward in tandem?
The Global Central Bank "Gold Relocation" Trend is Rising
According to Xinhua News Agency, on September 2, the Dutch central bank announced that it had transferred about 86 tons of gold reserves from New York in the United States and Ottawa in Canada to London in the United Kingdom between March and August this year, involving assets worth approximately 12 billion US dollars.
The Netherlands is not an isolated case. The Bank of France completed the replacement of 129 tons of gold stored in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's vault between July 2025 and January 2026, completely wiping out the French gold reserves stored in the US since the late 1920s.
The Reserve Bank of India shipped back 104.2 tons of gold from the US and the UK between October 2025 and March 2026, raising the proportion of domestic gold reserves from 38% to 77%.
However, London (UK) and New York (US) still firmly dominate global gold trading. Reuters cited data from the World Gold Council reporting that in the first half of 2026, the average daily trading volume of the two places far exceeded that of other markets, and Reuters' Breakingviews column pointed out that the trading volume of London and New York is still more than five times that of Hong Kong.
But the pattern is loosening: the report released by the World Gold Council in June shows that the proportion of central banks choosing to store gold at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has dropped from 17% to 14%.
The aforementioned report shows that in the past 12 months, 9% of central banks have increased the proportion of domestic gold storage, and 10% of central banks have further diversified their overseas storage locations.
Hong Kong, China and Singapore Compete for the Gold Hub
While many central banks are withdrawing their gold from the UK and the US, Singapore and Hong Kong, China located in Asia are striving to become gold trading hubs.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (which performs central bank functions) announced in June 2026 that the Singapore Exchange (SGX) will complete the construction of an over-the-counter gold trading clearing system within the year.
The central gold clearing and settlement system in Hong Kong, China launched trial operation in July, and introduced the "HAU" price code. In addition, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing completed the optimization and upgrading of US dollar gold futures and restarted trading in July.
Wang Hongying, Dean of the China (Hong Kong) Financial Derivatives Investment Research Institute, pointed out in an interview with China News Finance that from the demand caliber of physical investment gold (gold bars, gold coins), the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 70% of the global total, which provides a realistic foundation for the shift of pricing power to Asia.
The Asia-Pacific gold holdings research report released by the US financial holding company State Street in September 2025 shows that as of mid-2025, the demand in the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 69% of the global demand, not only regaining lost ground, but also exceeding the average level of 63% from 2010 to 2019. Data released by the World Gold Council at the end of April shows that in the first quarter of 2026, Asian investors' demand reached 474 tons, a year-on-year increase of 42%, hitting the second highest quarterly record in history.
According to a report by the British Financial Times, in the first 7 months of this year, Hong Kong imported nearly 100 tons of gold from Russia, a year-on-year increase of 3 times, hitting a record high.
Wang Hongying believes that affected by geopolitical conflicts, countries' trust in the international financial system has declined, and gold is shifting from Europe and the United States to neutral regions, making the eastward shift of the center of gravity a high-probability long-term trend.
The latest research report from the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in Canada points out that Asian demand led by China remains an important support for the global gold market. As China's influence in the gold market continues to grow, global gold pricing power will gradually shift from the traditional Western-centered system to China.
Li Gang, Research Director of the China Foreign Exchange Investment Research Institute, pointed out to China News Finance that the eastward shift of gold trading is a real trend. Asia itself is the world's largest gold consumption region with huge demand volume, which provides a realistic foundation for the concentration of trading, warehousing and clearing in Asia. The eastward shift does not mean that the European and American centers will be quickly replaced. In the short term, it is more likely to form a multi-center pattern of "European and American pricing + Asian trading".
Rising Asian Influence
Wang Hongying pointed out that the gold pricing system has evolved for a hundred years, and the US dollar still plays a core role. More than 70% of the world's gold financial trading volume is concentrated in the London LBMA over-the-counter market and the US COMEX futures market, and this pattern is difficult to shake in the short term.
Li Gang believes that the core path for Asia to enhance its voice is to transform from a gold consumption center to a pricing and financial center, and the biggest obstacle is not the insufficient gold reserves, but the insufficient concentration of international capital, liquidity and financial infrastructure. The final competition for gold pricing lies in depth, breadth and global capital participation, rather than just the scale of physical transactions.
According to a report by Reuters' Breakingviews column on August 7, London's average daily clearing volume in May 2026 was 16.1 million ounces, and the vaults held 9,464 tons of gold at the end of June. The column also pointed out that "real liquidity is built on trust. Legal infrastructure is as important as vault space."
As for the respective advantages of Hong Kong, China and Singapore in competing for the gold trading hub, Wang Hongying pointed out that Hong Kong, relying on the huge physical demand from the Chinese mainland and the RMB settlement mechanism, can support multi-currency transactions; Singapore's advantages lie in political neutrality, an international trading system and a mature market maker mechanism.
Li Gang believes that Hong Kong's biggest advantage is connecting the Chinese mainland and the international market; Singapore's biggest shortcoming is the lack of support from an ultra-large-scale physical market like China. Hong Kong has the conditions to grow into a global-level gold trading center, but the key lies in whether it can form a complete ecosystem covering physical delivery, RMB pricing, international clearing, financial products and pricing mechanisms.
At the same time, the London Bullion Market Association is considering moving up the morning gold auction time to facilitate Asian traders' participation.
Ruth Crowell, CEO of LBMA, said the adjustment is aimed at "reflecting market conditions in the Asian session and facilitating price discovery during that session" — which in itself is proof of the rising influence of Asia.
The views in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investment is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market.
This article is from the WeChat official account "China News Finance" (ID: jwview), written by Li Ziman, authorized for release by 36Kr.