World Gold Council Spotted Sluggish Retail Gold Demand in India
Gold | 2022-04-20 13:12:54
The sluggish retail demand coupled with higher gold recycling led to sharp decline in official gold imports during the month.
By Paul Ploumis
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC) published a new report on India’s gold market during the month of March this year. The retail gold market remained sluggish during the month. Also, gold imports recorded decline.
According to Mukesh Kumar, Senior Analyst, India World Gold Council, the retail demand for gold remained sluggish in the country, as buyers postponed their gold purchases in anticipation of a correction in the prices of the yellow metal. The domestic gold prices surged higher by 1.7% during the month. The discount on gold widened to $60 per ounce, as compared with $14-15 per ounce during end-February this year.
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The sluggish retail demand coupled with higher gold recycling led to sharp decline in official gold imports during the month. The imports totalled 15.8 tonnes, significantly down by 90% from the previous year and by 80% in comparison with the prior month.
The Indian gold ETFs witnessed marginal net inflows of 0.2 tonnes in March, driven by a correction in gold price. The net holdings in gold ETFs stood at 36.4 tonnes as at end-March this year. The Reserve Bank of India gold reserves totalled 760.4 tonnes, adding 2.4 tonnes during the month.
The report anticipated improvement in retail demand during April, as consumers begin to accept higher gold price levels. The festival and wedding purchases will also support demand growth, WGC said.
