Gold demand up 8 per cent in March quarter

Chennai: Despite gold prices touching new highs in the March quarter, demand for the yellow metal was up 8 per cent and the investment demand went up 19 per cent.

Gold demand in Q1 2024 was 136.6 tonnes, up by 8 per cent as compared to 126.3 tonnes in Q1 2023. Due to higher prices, gold demand in value terms went up 20 per cent in Q1.

Jewellery demand was up 4 per cent at 95.5 tonnes and investment demand went up 19 per cent to 41.1 tonnes. In value terms, investment demand was 32 per cent higher.

“Q1’24 also saw healthy levels of gold bar and coin demand in India, up 19 per cent at 41 tonnes. This was on par with Q1’22, which was itself the strongest first quarter since 2014. The price correction in February sparked investors’ interest, with anticipation of a rebound driving purchases. As the price rallied to successive record highs, investors remained bullish, contributing to the robust demand. Investments into gold ETFs too saw positive inflows of over 2 tonnes,” said Sachin Jain, Regional CEO, India, World Gold Council.

Despite gold prices being higher 11 per cent on average during the quarter, gold imports too were up 25 per cent at 179.4 tonnes.

As for the whole year, WGC has given a broader range of 700 to 800 tonnes considering both positive and negative factors. “While the current high gold prices may temporarily put a strain on demand, strong cultural and seasonal factors such as festivals, weddings helped by an expectation for a better monsoon and solid economic growth would support demand. Our full-year gold demand forecast for India is between 700-800 tonnes, if the price rally continues it could be at the lower end of this range,” said Jain.