The demand for gold has bounced back sharply in India from the lows seen in 2020 because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and has even beaten the pre-pandemic level. In the September quarter, the demand for gold jumped 47 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 139.1 tonnes, as against 94.6 tonnes in the year-ago period, and higher than the 123.9 tonnes recorded in the pre-pandemic September 2019 quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest release. In value terms, demand surged 37 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 59,330 crore during the quarter.
Global gold demand has seen a year-on-year decline of 8 per cent during the April-June period to 948.4 tonnes and going ahead further monetary tightening and continued dollar strength may pose headwinds, says a report. According to the WGC Gold Demand Trends Q2 2022 report, the total gold demand during the second quarter of 2021 stood at 1,031.8 tonnes. The year-on-year demand was affected by increase in gold electronic traded funds (ETFs) outflow, decline in Central banks buying and lower demand from the technology segment, the report said.
Retail investment demand for gold bars and coins as well as central bank purchases pushed the global gold demand by 28 per cent to 1,181.5 tonnes in the September quarter, according to the World Gold Council report. The total global demand stood at 921.9 tonnes during the July-September quarter of 2021, the World Gold Council's 'Gold Demand Trends Q3 2022' showed on Tuesday. Investment was down 47 per cent year-on-year as gold backed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) investors responded to a challenging combination of higher interest rates and a strong US dollar with significant outflows of 227 tonnes.
Consumption of gold is the highest among middle-income households - those with annual income between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh - who account for an average of 56 per cent of gold sales over the last five years, according to a nationwide survey conducted by India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). "Per capita consumption is highest among the rich, but total volume still rests with the middle-income group. "With increasing income, there is an increasing propensity to consume gold, although the share of gold in the portfolio does not increase with the same proportion of income," the survey report says.
India's gold demand declined 18 per cent to 135.5 tonnes in the first three months of this year, mainly due to a sharp rise in prices, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The demand stood at 165.8 tonnes in the first three months of 2021. In terms of value, gold demand dropped 12 per cent to Rs 61,550 crore in the January-March period. It stood at Rs 69,720 crore in the year-ago period, the 'Gold Demand Trends Q1 2022' report released by the WGC said.
The council is looking at the youth as a segment in the global market and has started the LoveGold on the social media (Facebook and Twitter).
In the first quarter of 2013, gold imports declined 5.7 per cent, as traders relied mostly in stocks to meet rising demand.
Gold prices are struggling and are down 18 per cent from their March highs. But stock prices have fallen even more. As a result, the precious metal has begun to outperform equities - both in the domestic market and international markets. Gold prices are up 2.6 per cent in the domestic market in the current calendar year (CY22) so far, according to the World Gold Council (WGC), compared to a 1.7 per cent decline in the Sensex year-to-date (YTD).
However, in 2020, gold demand in India -- the world's second biggest consumer after China -- could increase to 700-800 tonnes on hopes of increased acceptance of high price level and likely economic reforms boosting consumer confidence, World Gold Council said.
Global gold demand hit an 11-year low in 2020 at 3,759.6 tonnes, mainly due to a weak October-December quarter and the COVID-19 related disruptions across the world driving a muted consumer sentiment throughout the year, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report. The overall consumer demand during 2019 was at 4,386.4 tonnes, while in 2009 the overall demand was at 3,385.8 tonnes, according the WGC's 2020 Gold Demand Trends report. Global gold demand dropped by 28 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 783.4 tonnes in the fourth quarter compared to 1,082.9 tonnes during the October-December period of 2019, the report stated.
India's gold demand recovered during the January-March period to witness a growth of 37 per cent at 140 tonne compared to the same quarter of 2020, due to ease of COVID-related restrictions, pent up demand and softening of prices of the yellow metal, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The overall gold demand stood at 102 tonne during the first quarter of 2020, as per WGC data. Gold demand in value terms increased by 57 per cent during the first quarter of this calendar year to Rs 58,800 crore compared to Rs 37,580 crore in the corresponding period of 2020.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased its gold purchases, as part of its foreign exchange (forex) reserves. In the first half (H1) of calendar year 2021 (CY21), the addition of gold to India's forex reserves has been the highest - on a half-yearly basis -at 29 tonnes. Now, the RBI's gold holding - as a proportion of its forex reserves - has for the first time crossed 700 tonnes.
Shubhankar Sharma becomes the youngest Indian and the third overall to have played all four Majors in a single year after Jeev Milkha Singh (in 2007) and Anirban Lahiri (in 2015 and 2016).
'When the gold price rises rapidly, India's physical gold market remains on standby.'
Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are among the golfers set to don Tiger Woods' signature Sunday red and black during the final round of the World Golf Championships (WGC) event in Florida to honour the 15-time major winner, who suffered a car accident.
In comparison to other asset classes, globally, gold rallied significantly after many years to deliver 18.4 per cent returns in 2019.
The RBI is still a small player in international gold buying among central banks. But in terms of total gold bought in 2019, it is the sixth largest buyer with 25.2 tonnes purchases in the first 10 months of 2019.
Phil Mickelson dismissed Shubhankar Sharma as a member of the media at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Saturday, but the veteran American will not mistake the Indian when they play together in the final threesome on Sunday.
Indian central bank may soon edge out its counterpart in the Netherlands from the top-10 list, as latter's holding has largely remained unchanged.
The only element of demand for gold likely to be affected by a recession is investment demand, "but that in turn will depend on the 'type' of recession,". Recessions can be bad for commodity prices, as consumer and business confidence falls, demand for goods and services is cut, weighing on demand for raw materials and depressing prices.
Gold demand in India dropped by 30 per cent during the July-September quarter to 86.6 tonnes, compared to the same period last year due to Covid-19 related disruptions and ruling high prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.
Indian overtakes China in gold consumption.
Xander Schauffele waded into the debate over the world's best golfer after finishing runner-up to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai on Sunday.
Going ahead, the likely implementation of the goods and services tax bill in July and how the monsoons play out will have a bearing on India's demand for gold and gold jewellery
In April and May, there were additions by RBI of 600 kg and 900 kg. RBI's total gold holding is now 561.9 tonnes.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Globally, jewellery buying fell 14%, investment slid 11%.
Gold demand will go up in the second half of this year.
WGC expects demand to revive in H2 on surplus monsoon rains
The 22-year-old golfer is the fifth and the youngest Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
India imported 769 tonnes of gold in 2014, down from 825 tonnes in 2013.
Gold looks cheap compared to the stock markets that are highly overbought at the moment.
To cut its debt, promoter Kapil Wadhawan and promoter group Wadhawan Global Capitalhave resorted to measures such as sale of assets of group companies as well as securitisation of retail assets of DHFL to bring in liquidity.
Shubhankar Sharma has two simple goals to achieve at this week's World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and one of them is to gather enough courage and introduce himself to Tiger Woods.
Gold demand in India is expected to be robust in 2014, likely leading to a further jump in smuggling if curbs on bullion imports remain, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy and three-times winner Tiger Woods were both sent packing in stunning fashion in the snow-delayed first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Thursday.
While gold consumption is expected to stabilise this year, it may be some time before it revisits record levels seen in the depths of the financial crisis.
WGC will conduct nearly 30 workshops across the Indian cities as a prelude to Au DITIONS, a competition for gold jewellery designers. Au DITION is aimed at identifying three trend-setting designers, whose works will be showcased worldwide.
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