Recycled Gold Supply Recorded 4% Decline in 2017

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The net gold supply during the entire year 2017 registered a decline of 4%, says the latest Gold Demand Trends Report for Full Year 2017, published by the World Gold Council (WGC). The recycled gold supply dropped significantly by 10% during the year, whereas the gold mine production edged higher marginally to hit new high in 2017, said the report.

The total gold supply declined by 4% from 4,590.9t in 2016 to 4,398.4t in 2017. The mine supply increased marginally from 3,263.0t in 2016 to 3,268.7t in 2017. The mine production growth continued to slow down in 2017.

The gold mine production reported 2% decline in Q4 last year. The quarterly output totaled 833.1t in Q4. The production levels saw huge decline in China and Tanzania. The stricter environmental regulations imposed by the Chinese administration resulted in closure of certain operations during the year. The Chinese annual output dropped by nearly 9%. The Tanzanian gold mine output has dropped sharply by 15% during Q4 alone. The US, Brazil and Mali too reported production declines, whereas output from Russia witnessed year-on-year increase in Q4 last year. Also, Indonesia and Canada reported 11% and 5% jump respectively in Q4 mine production, mainly aided by production from new mines.

Despite sharp rise in gold prices, the recycled gold supply declined to 1,160t, dropping by almost10% when compared with the total supply of 1,295t in 2016. The supply during the initial three quarters of the year remained subdued. Q4 ’17 reported year-on-year increase in recycled gold supply volumes. East Asian markets such as Indonesia and Turkey failed to sustain momentum in recycling activity similar to levels exhibited in 2016. The political unrests across the Middle East region also saw consumers holding on to their gold assets. Meantime, the recycling activity remained robust in the US. On the other hand, the recycled gold supply from the EU region remained weak during 2017.

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