India pushes gold demand
Jewellery
demand in India
up
by 5% in Q1 YoY
Gold
demand lifted by
Central
banks & ETFs globally!
This
compares with a relatively weak Q1 2018, when demand sank to a three-year low
of just 984.2t. Central bank buying continued apace: global gold reserves grew
by 145.5t. Gold-backed ETFs also saw growth: quarterly inflows into those
products grew by 49% to 40.3t. Total bar and coin investment weakened a
fraction to 257.8t (-1%), due to a fall in demand for gold bars.
Official
gold coin buying grew 12% to 56.1t. Jewellery demand was a touch stronger y-o-y
at 530.3t, chiefly due to improvement in India’s market. The volume of gold
used in technology dipped to a two-year low of 79.3t, hit by slower economic
growth. The supply of gold in Q1 was virtually unchanged, just 3t lower y-o-y
at 1,150t.
Highlights
of the Gold Demand Trends, Q1 2019 report issued by World Gold Council says, Central
banks bought 145.5t of gold, the largest Q1 increase in global reserves
Q1
jewellery demand remained up 1%, boosted by India. A lower rupee gold price in
late February/early March coincided with the traditional gold-buying wedding
season, lifting jewellery demand in India to 125.4t (+5% y-o-y) – the highest
Q1 since 2015.
ETFs
and similar products added 40.3t in Q1. Funds listed in the US and Europe
benefitted from inflows, although the former were relatively erratic, while the
latter were underpinned by continued geopolitical instability.
Bar
and coin investment softened a touch – 1% down to 257.8t. China and Japan were
the main contributors to the decline. Japan saw net disinvestment, driven by
profit-taking as the local price surged in February.
Gold
used in applications such as electronics, wireless and LED lighting fell 3% to
79.3t. Trade frictions, sluggish sales of consumer electronics and global
economic headwinds hit the technology sector.
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