WGC: Gold Jewellery Demand Surged 6% on Declining Gold Prices

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Gold Demand Trends Q3 2018 report published by the World Gold Council (WGC) cited 6% surge in world gold jewellery demand during the quarter, primarily aided by declining gold prices. The demand for gold jewellery increased from 505.8t in Q3 ’17 to 535.7t in Q3 ’18. The rapid jump in demand in India and China was partially offset by demand decline in other countries such as Iran, Turkey and the UAE.

The Q3 ’18 demand in India soared by 10% to touch 148.8t. It must be noted that the country had reported two straight quarters of year-on-year decline in demand prior to this. The demand peaked up in early-August this year, with domestic gold prices falling to their lowest level since January this year. This led to bargain hunting by customers. However, the demand eased towards the end of the month and into September.

The Chinese jewellery demand totaled 174.2t in Q3, higher by 10% over the year-ago quarter. The country reported strong jewellery sales during the Qixi festival- a gold buying occasion for younger consumers. Both traditional and innovative jewellery products witnessed notable rise in demand.

Meantime, the Middle East jewellery demand was down sharply by 12% over the previous year to 37.7t. The Turkish demand tumbled by 31%, whereas Egypt recorded modest gain of 17% in demand. All key Asian markets reported robust jewellery demand.

The U.S. demand remained buoyant, registering 4% growth to total 28.3t. The European demand was up marginally by 1% to 12.7t.