China’s Gold Imports From Hong Kong Slump on Quota Backlog

China’s gold imports from Hong Kong slumped in April from a record as banks failed to get quotas fast enough to meet surging demand from mainland buyers keen to purchase bullion as prices fell into a bear market.

Mainland buyers purchased 126,135 kilograms, including scrap, compared with 223,519 kilograms in March, according to Hong Kong government data yesterday. Net imports, after deducting flows from China into Hong Kong, were 75,891 kilograms, from 130,038 kilograms a month earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations.