China gold move will cut risk, not appetite

Tightened oversight of the gold market, including a ban on bullion trading apart from that directed through the official exchanges in Shanghai, comes after a year of volatile price moves for gold and silver. Unauthorized trading platforms have proliferated along with the boom in precious metals.

Analysts in Hong Kong said the move is likely an attempt to bolster investor safeguards rather than to discourage investment. Some investors had complained they'd been stopped out of gold positions on unregulated exchanges without proper notification.