WGC | Mines to Market

The current global scenario of gold jewellery demand The current pandemic situation is playing havoc. The world is trying to figure out when this uncertainty will come to an end. Jewellery sector is also facing the struggle. The global gold demand came to a standstill at 1,083.8t in Q1 2020. However, there was an increase of 1% around the same period, in the year 2019. Claimed by the World Gold Council’s latest Gold Demand Trends report. It has been reported that the global COVID-19 pandemic has fueled safe-haven investment gold demand. With gold-backed ETFs attracting huge inflows (+298t) to push global holdings in these products to a record high of 3,185t. On the other hand, consumer-focused sectors have become weaker. Jewellery demand got affected hugely by the COVID-19. Eventually, the quarterly demand dropped by 39% with a low of 325.8t. A sharp investment inflow pushed the gold price to an eight-year high. Thus, demand reached US$55bn, which is the highest since Q2 of 2013. The gold price witnessed a new record high. Central banks continued to amass gold, although at a slower pace. Amid heightened volatility and uncertainty, global gold reserves grew by 145t in Q1. Russia announced it would suspend its long-term buying program, signaling a slowdown in global net buying for Q2 and beyond. Total Q1 supply fell 4% as coronavirus lockdowns disrupted mine production and gold recycling. Operations were halted at many projects in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. And recycling ground to a near standstill towards the end of the quarter as consumers were confined to their homes. The Covid-19 situation and the global lockdown slashed jewelry demand. The demand fell down globally, without any doubt. There is a 65% decline in demand, in China. China is the largest consumer of jewelry and also the first one to succumb to the pandemic. Gold demand in India – Statistics for Q1 2020 Let us have a look at Indian gold jewelry demand during Q1. Here are a few pointers: For Q1, the gold demand in India was 101.9 tonnes, which is 36% low if we compare to the demand in the year 2019. The total gold jewelry demand witnessed a low o 41%. The total investment demand for Q1 went down by 17%. It has been reported that the total recycled gold in India for Q1 2020 was 18.5 tonnes as compared to last year, which was 16.1 tonnes. Managing Director of World Gold Council, Somasundaram claimed – “Indian gold demand in Q1, 2020 dropped 36% to 101.9 tonnes due to a combination of factors such as high and volatile prices, economic uncertainties and towards the end of the quarter, severe logistical freeze following lockdown. Investment demand, though lower by 17% at 28.1 tonnes, was relatively better as sentiments towards equities turned negative and investors turned to gold’s liquidity and safe-haven status. Wedding demand during the first few weeks of the quarter did appear to bring in some seasonal cheer. However, later developments, more particularly since the beginning of March, disrupted the market and consumer confidence, resulting in a sharp drop in jewellery demand by 41% to 73.9 tonnes.” The recycling was increased by 16% because of life-time high gold prices. Collateralized loans against gold and recycling are expected to grow in the coming few quarters.

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