Jan-Feb Mainland China Gold Imports Rise Sixfold Y-O-Y

"China's gold imports continue soaring...Mainland China's imports from Hong Kong rose 20% in February to 39.7 tonnes, according to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. That's below the record 102.5 tonnes imported last November. But combined imports for the first two months of this year increased more than six-fold from last year to 72.6 tonnes."

"China is poised to overtake India as the world's largest gold market this year... Consumer demand in the country rose 20% in 2011, compared to 7% for the rest of the world. Hong Kong shipped 427.9 tonnes of gold to China last year, up more than three times from a year earlier."