Swiss December gold exports to the US reach highest since March 2022

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Gold exports from Switzerland rose year on year in December as supplies to the United States soared to the highest since March 2022 and offset lower deliveries to top consumer China, Swiss customs data showed on Thursday.

Switzerland, the world's biggest bullion refining and transit hub, along with Britain, home to the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, saw a surge in gold transfers to the U.S. as market players sought to hedge against the possibility of U.S. import tariffs from President Donald Trump.

Over the last two months, 12.9 million troy ounces (401 metric tons) of gold were delivered to COMEX-approved warehouses GC-STX-COMEX, raising stocks there by 73.5% to 30.4 million ounces, the highest since July 2022.

According to the Swiss data, gold deliveries from the country to the U.S. rose to 64.2 tons in December from 3.3 tons in the last month of 2023. In March 2022, when global markets were grappling with immediate consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland exported 81.5 tons of gold to the U.S.

Swiss total gold exports and supplies to key markets* (in kgs):

* Source: Swiss customs. Data subject to revision.