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The data on Swiss trade in precious metals for January 2014 has been broken down by country for the first time in 30 years, report swissinfo.ch and vaterland.li. It shows that Switzerland imports most of its gold, silver and precious coins from the UK, while its main export markets are in Asia. Total exports were over 5.3 billion euros in January, while imports were worth almost 6 billion euros.
Swiss Trade in Gold in January 2014
The press release by the Swiss Federal Customs Administration has the breakdown by country.
source: based on Swiss Customs press release, exchange rate via oanda.com
The data also shows that that trade in gold bars grew rapidly after around 2005, and that Switzerland now exports gold bars worth over CHF 100 billion a year.
Swiss trade in gold bars, billion CHF
Source: Swiss customs press release
No explanation is given in the press release for this sudden growth since 2005. Given that Switzerland is a commodities hub and not a producer there was most likely a change in trade regulations or taxation around this time.
The Swiss typically import gold in bullion from the United States or the UK and export it in smaller units, like coins, to Asia.
Top10 sources of #gold for Swiss imports: pic.twitter.com/x85Z0gebJf
— Alexander Gloy (@Gloeschi) November 20, 2014
Top10 destinations of Swiss #gold exports: pic.twitter.com/4LBFfAdCvO
— Alexander Gloy (@Gloeschi) November 20, 2014
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