China plans to launch yuan gold fix by end of 2015
China plans to launch a yuan-denominated gold fix by the end of 2015 via the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), in a move aimed at giving the world’s biggest bullion producer and consumer more influence over pricing. The first public confirmation made by an exchange official comes after Reuters cited sources in February on the proposal for the fix to be set through trading on the SGE, the world’s biggest physical bullion exchange. “We will be introducing a renminbi-denominated fix at the right moment, we are hoping to introduce by the end of the year,” Shen Gang, SGE’s vice president, said at the LBMA Bullion Market Forum in Shanghai on Thursday. Shen did not give more details, but sources familiar with the matter have said that China is expected to receive central bank approval for the fix soon. Pan Gongsheng, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said the bank would continue to support “speedy and healthy growth of the China gold market” and its internationalisation. Given its leading role in gold, China feels it is entitled to be a price-setter for bullion and is asserting itself at a time when the global benchmark, the century-old London fix, is under scrutiny for alleged price-manipulation. If the yuan fix takes off, China could compel local buyers and foreign suppliers to pay the domestic yuan price, making the London fix less relevant in the world’s biggest bullion market. However, given the yuan is not fully convertible, the two benchmarks could exist side-by-side globally.
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