China's Gold Market and the Global Outlook

Advertisement - This article is distributed on behalf of Mayfair Gold Corp. and Newcore Gold Ltd., with which SRC swiss resource capital AG maintains paid IR advisory agreements · Publisher: SRC swiss resource capital AG · Author: Ingrid Heinritzi · First published: May 20, 2026, 2:15 p.m. Zurich/Berlin ·

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Beijing. The meeting produced selected trade-related announcements, but it did not remove broader uncertainty in global markets. For investors, this environment keeps gold in focus as a strategic store of value and crisis hedge.

China remains one of the world’s most important gold markets. According to the World Gold Council, Chinese gold ETFs recorded their eighth consecutive monthly inflow in April 2026, attracting RMB 3.5 billion, or approximately US$498 million. Total assets under management reached approximately RMB 306 billion, or US$45 billion, while holdings rose to 301 tonnes. At the same time, the People’s Bank of China reported an 8-tonne addition to its official gold holdings in April, bringing total official gold holdings to 2,322 tonnes, or around 9% of China’s total official reserves.

Gold nevertheless traded broadly sideways in April. The LBMA Gold Price PM rose only slightly in U.S. dollar terms, while the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price PM in renminbi slipped marginally, according to the World Gold Council. In China, wholesale gold demand weakened seasonally as the jewellery market entered its traditional second-quarter off-season. Stabilisation in local gold prices may offer some support for jewellery demand, but stronger domestic equity markets and lower gold-price momentum could continue to dampen bullion demand and futures activity.

From a global perspective, geopolitical risks, uncertainty around trade policy, energy markets and monetary-policy expectations continue to support gold’s strategic relevance. Gold does not generate income, and short-term price fluctuations can be significant, especially when bond yields, the U.S. dollar or investor risk appetite change. However, in a world shaped by ongoing geopolitical tension and macroeconomic uncertainty, gold remains an important defensive asset for many investors.

Mayfair Gold (- https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/mayfair-gold-corp/ -) is advancing the 100%-owned Fenn-Gib Gold Project in the Timmins District of northern Ontario. According to the company’s 2026 preliminary feasibility study, Fenn-Gib hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 181.3 million tonnes grading 0.74 g/t gold, containing approximately 4.3 million ounces of gold, plus an additional Inferred Mineral Resource. The current mine plan is purposefully designed to go through a fast track provincial permitting path. By starting small Mayfair can get permits by 2028. The mine plan processes 1.04 million ounces, representing 24% of the Indicated Mineral Resource, and outlines a high-grade open-pit development scenario with a projected 14.3-year operating mine life. During the first six years of operations, annual gold production is expected to average 71,336 ounces at a processed grade of 1.47 g/t gold and all-in sustaining costs of US$1,171 per ounce, based on company assumptions. Mayfair can use the free cash flow from production to exploit the remaining resource as well as pursue other growth opportunities in the region. By starting small and harvesting the high-grade zone Mayfair can get into production by 2030.

Mayfair has also announced an agreement to acquire Plato Gold’s interests in the Guibord, Marriott and Holloway properties near Fenn-Gib, expanding its regional land position by more than 65%. This land as well as its highly prospective southern  block are all on the Porcupine Destor Fault Zone, the most prolific structure in the region. Exploration plans this year have the potential to increase the resource size and grade profile of the starter mine.

Newcore Gold (- https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/newcore-gold-ltd/ -) is advancing its 100%-owned Enchi Gold Project in southwestern Ghana. Enchi covers a 248 km² land package along 40 kilometres of the Bibiani Shear Zone, a gold belt that hosts several multi-million-ounce gold deposits. According to the company’s updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Enchi hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 83.6 million tonnes grading 0.56 g/t gold, containing 1,502,000 ounces of gold, and an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 40.1 million tonnes grading 0.48 g/t gold, containing 626,000 ounces of gold. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The Indicated Mineral Resource is expected to form the basis for Newcore’s preliminary feasibility study, which the company targets for completion by the end of June 2026. Newcore has noted that the resource incorporated only part of the drilling completed in 2024 and 2025 as part of the ongoing 60,000-metre drill program, and that all deposits remain open along strike and at depth. This supports the company’s view that Enchi offers further resource-growth potential, although future exploration results cannot be guaranteed.

Newcore recently announced that it had upsized its bought-deal financing to aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$15.0 million. The financing is expected to close on or about May 28, 2026, subject to customary conditions, including required regulatory approvals. According to Newcore, the net proceeds are intended to fund exploration and development activities at Enchi as well as general corporate and working-capital purposes.

Current company information and press releases: Newcore Gold (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/newcore-gold-ltd/ -) and Mayfair Gold (- https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/mayfair-gold-corp/ -).

Further information is available in the Precious Metals Report: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/reports/ansicht/edelmetall-report-2025-04/

Sources: Mayfair Gold, Newcore Gold,

Mayfair Gold Corp.: Mayfair Delivers Robust Pre-Feasibility Study for the Fenn-Gib Gold Project, January 8, 2026; Mayfair Gold Announces Acquisition of the Guibord, Marriott and Holloway Properties from Plato Gold, April 2, 2026.

Newcore Gold Ltd.: Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana, March 18, 2026; Technical Report filing, May 1, 2026; Upsized Bought Deal Financing, May 15, 2026.

World Gold Council: China gold market update: A notable rise in gold reserves, May 14, 2026; Gold Market Commentary: April 2026.

Reuters/AP/CFR reporting and analysis on the May 2026 U.S.-China meetings.

Regulatory disclosure / Disclaimer

Pursuant to Section 85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) in conjunction with Article 20 of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/958, we hereby disclose that authors, employees and affiliated companies of Swiss Resource Capital AG (SRC) may hold long or short positions in the issuers discussed.

Compensation/relationship: This article is distributed on behalf of Mayfair Gold Corp. and Newcore Gold Ltd., with which SRC swiss resource capital AG maintains paid IR advisory agreements. Author’s own positions: none. SRC net position: less than 0.5%. Issuer stake of 5% or more in SRC: no. Update policy: no obligation to update.

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