China gold consumption rises 0.28% to 684.6 tonnes in first three quarters of 2026

The headline gain is essentially flat, but the composition is the story: jewellery demand collapsed while bars, coins and ETF inflows carried the total. That shift points to gold being bought as a store of value rather than an adornment, a demand base more sensitive to price sentiment and macro conditions than to seasonal gifting cycles. The pullback in ETF additions, even as holdings sit at a substantial level, suggests the flow impulse is cooling rather than reversing. Whether bar and coin buying keeps offsetting the jewellery slump is the open question for the remainder of the year.