WGC: India Gold Imports Surged in April, Despite Sky High Prices

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) released latest update on India’s gold market. The Akshaya Tritiya festival acted as a catalyst for boosted demand for the yellow metal in the country.

According to the world gold trade body, gold imports rebounded in April this year, following significant decline in March, despite record high gold prices. The April 2024 gold imports were valued at $1.3 billion, registering two-fold surge from the previous month. The higher imports are mainly attributed to high levels of stocking ahead of Akshaya Tritiya festival, WGC report said.

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The central bank continued to bolster its gold reserves during the month. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 5.6 tonnes of gold to its reserves in April 2024. The gold purchases by the RBI since the beginning of the year now stands at around 25 tonnes. Surprisingly, RBI has surpassed the whole year purchase of 2023 during the first quarter of 2024 itself.

After 12 consecutive months of inflows, gold-backed ETFs reported outflows in April this year. The net outflows from Indian gold ETFs totalled INR 4.4 billion in April, primarily on account of profit taking and possibly on account of shift to other asset classes such as equities.

The WGC expects local gold demand to remain strong during the upcoming festive season, which begins in August-September. Bar and coin demand is expected to remain robust, while it predicts subdued jewellery demand.