Gold shipments from Japan are at the highest level since at least 1985, as individuals who purchased jewelry more than 20 years ago sell it amid record prices.
Shipments of bullion in the 10 months that ended in October totaled 95.6 metric tons, according to Takahiro Morita, the Japan director of the World Gold Council, who cited Finance Ministry customs data. The previous high was 95.5 tons in 2008.
Gold is set for an 11th year of gains as central banks join investors in purchasing bullion to diversify their assets. Japan's largest bullion retailer, Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K., said it bought 40 percent more gold bars and jewelry from individuals in the nine-month period ending in September. Gold investment jumped 33 percent to 468.1 tons in the third quarter from a year earlier as bar and coin demand in Europe more than doubled to the most since the fourth quarter of 2008, the London-based WGC said.