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Featured Report
India has a rich tradition of gold consumption and production. Cherished as both an adornment and an investment, Indian households own circa 22,000 tonnes of gold and around 600 tonnes of gold is used in jewellery production each year.
The contrast between the global picture and the more granular demand data clearly demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of the gold market. The numerous and varying roles that gold plays means it responds to different cues in different ways.
India has an ambivalent relationship with gold. For consumers, gold is a prized asset, cherished as both an adornment and an investment. For the government, gold is a major contributor to the current account deficit, a challenge that needs to be addressed.
Gold demand totalled 929t in the third quarter, which proved to be a generally subdued quarter for the gold market. Jewellery demand softened by 4% year-on-year, but the comparison continues to be heavily influenced by the events in 2013.
Gold demand of 964t in the second quarter was, unsurprisingly, lower when compared with the exceptional upsurge in demand in Q2 2013. Jewellery demand weakened year-on-year, but the broad, 5-year uptrend remains intact.
After an exceptional 2013, gold demand made a robust start to 2014 - virtually unchanged year-on-year at 1,074.5 tonnes. Jewellery demand gained moderately, largely due to the environment of lower gold prices compared with Q1 2013 and seasonal factors in many markets. Divergence was seen within the investment space: net ETFs flows were zero, compared with 177t of outflows in Q1 2013, while bar and coin investment unsurprisingly fell far below the record Q1 levels of demand seen a year ago. Central banks continued to purchase gold for its diversification and risk management properties.
The report examines the factors that have driven China’s rise to become the number one producer and consumer of gold since the market began liberalising in the late 1990s and consumers were first allowed to buy gold.