GJ Town India

Gold ETFs show resilience amid global economic shifts   Recently, the World Gold Council published their Gold ETF Commentary for the September 2024. The Report said, once again, the region saw FX hedging related inflows, albeit at a slower pace than August, driven mainly by continued strength in local currencies against the dollar.   Asian funds attracted US$175mn in September, extending the region’s inflow streak to 20 months. India again saw strong inflows, driven by factors not too dissimilar from previous months. At the same time, the strong gold price momentum and elevated geopolitical risk were contributors.   Increasing net longs were mainly contributed by money managers – their net positions reached 793t as of September, 8% higher than the end-August level and 84% above the H1 average of 430t. Similar to previous months, gold’s eye-catching performance and investors’ rising bets on the Fed’s future rate cuts were main drivers. In the context of Fed Rat...

Gold jewellery 7% & Gold demand up 10% in India   Somasundaram PR, Regional CEO, India, World Gold Council (WGC) said, “India’s gold demand of 210t in Q3 2023 was higher by 10% over Q3 2022 of 191.7t. Purchase of gold jewellery in India was up 7% y-o-y aided by softer gold prices and festive demand, more pronounced in South India.   Investment gold demand, that is bars and coins, jumped 20% to 54.5t from 45.4t in Q3 of the previous year. Price correction was a major factor that triggered the latent demand which we believe continues to be strong underpinned by strong positive economic sentiment mixed with uncertainties arising from a variety of factors such as fear of inflation, below-normal monsoon and global developments. Gold recycling in India recorded 19.3t, a 20% growth over last year, which is more due to low base of last year and perhaps some profit taking. We believe recycling will continue to grow as initiatives of organised players to increase recycling of jewell...

Online gold market India   India has embraced online retailing across different categories. Digital and social activity plays an increasingly important part in the purchase journey for gold. In urban India, consumers browse online/mobile apps before making purchases; they use online blogs and social media for ideas and inspiration. And mobile wallets/apps have played a key role in the growth of Internet Investment Gold (IIG) in India.   The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the brick and mortar business model of Indian gold retailers and has become a catalyst for online channels to boost sales. In this report focuses on, 1: the growth of IIG, 2: the barriers to online gold purchase and opportunities to grow the online market & 3: how retailers are adopting a digital strategy post Covid-19.   In the context of the report Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, India, World Gold Council (WGC) said, “Online retail adoption accelerated during Covid-19 across categories. T...