GJ Town India

Despite record-high prices demand only falling 2%!   The World Gold Council (WGC)’s Q1 2024 Gold Demand Trends report reveals that total global gold demand (inclusive of OTC purchases) was up 3% year-on-year (YoY) to 1,238t, marking the strongest first quarter since 2016. Demand excluding OTC fell 5% to 1,102t in Q1 compared to the same period in 2023.   Healthy investment from the OTC market 1 , persistent central bank buying, and higher demand from Asian buyers, helped drive the gold price to a record quarterly average of US$2,070/oz—10% higher year-on-year and 5% higher quarter-on-quarter. Central banks continued to buy gold apace, adding 290t to official global holdings during the quarter.   Consistent and substantial purchases by the official sector highlight gold's importance in international reserve portfolios amidst market volatility and increased risk. Turning to investment demand, bar and coin investment increased 3% year-on-year, remaining steady at the ...

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...

Gold demand for jewellery fell by 7% The global gold market saw a solid start to 2022, with first quarter demand (excluding OTC) up 34% year-on-year, thanks to strong ETF flows, reflecting gold’s status as a safe haven investment during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Geopolitical crises weighed heavily on the global economy and reinvigorated investor interest, pushing the gold price briefly to US$2,070/oz in March, just shy of its all-time high.  The World Gold Council’s latest Gold Demand Trends Report reveals gold ETFs had their strongest quarterly inflows of 269t since Q3 2020, more than reversing the 173t annual net outflow from 2021 and driven in part by the rising gold price   Turning to the jewellery sector, global gold demand fell 7% year-on-year to 474t, driven primarily by softer demand in China and India.  Despite a strong performance in China over the lunar New Year period, this was later dampened by Covid outbreaks in February and March ...

Gold recycling shoot-up by 88% in 1Q YoY   In the context of India Demand Statistics for Q1 2022 (January – March) & by reviewing  Gold demand full year January – March 2022; Somasundaram PR, Regional CEO, India, World Gold Council said, After rising to record levels in Q4 2021, India’s gold Jewellery demand fell by 26% y-o-y in Q1 2022 to 94 tonnes.   Since 2010, barring the pandemic periods, this is only the third time the Q1 total has been below 100 tonnes.  Fewer auspicious days coupled with a sharp rise in gold prices meant fewer weddings and a pause in retail demand, with households postponing gold buying in anticipation of a price correction.   Investment demand, primarily gold bars and coins, however, grew 5% to 41 tonnes, rising prices and volatility in equity markets acting as support. With safe-haven demand and rupee depreciation pushing gold prices above Rs.50,000/10g, discussions with trade revealed that most of the buying was lower ticket...

The relevance of gold is no one’s liability Recently the World Gold Council has published, The relevance of gold as a strategic asset (2019), from investment perspective. That says gold is a highly liquid yet scarce asset, and it is no one’s liability. It is bought as a luxury good as much as an investment. As such, gold can play four fundamental roles in a portfolio, 1: a source of long-term returns, 2: a diversifier that can mitigate losses in times of market stress, 3: a liquid asset with no credit risk that has outperformed fiat currencies & 4: a means to enhance overall portfolio performance. Our analysis shows that adding 2%, 5% or 10% in gold over the past decade to the average pension fund portfolio would have resulted in higher risk-adjusted returns. The WGC says, Gold is becoming more mainstream. Since 2001, investment demand for gold worldwide has grown, on average, 15% per year. This has been driven in part by the advent of new ways to access t...

Platform for gold data, analytics and research Soon after the launch by the World Gold Council, Goldhub has become a market-leading source of data, insights and analytical tools are helping investors understand gold’s value as a strategic asset. Goldhub now is an to arm investors with a wide range of data that is necessary when making informed decisions in relation to gold investment. In addition, for the first-time, investors have access to interactive tools and expert research in a single, convenient online resource. John Reade, Chief Market Strategist and Head of Research at the World Gold Council, commented: “We believe Goldhub will be transformative, as it will help investors better understand how gold works and how to evaluate its role in their portfolios. Last year, we commissioned two research studies among institutional investors, and both cited a lack of data as a key reason for not investing in gold. Goldhub will fill that gap.” As of today Goldhub provides...