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Quarterly gold demand hits eight-year low

November 9, 2017

The World Gold Council industry body has reported a marked drop in global demand for gold in the third quarter. It pointed out that there was considerably less interest in the precious metal in reform-plagued India.

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Gold jewelry
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Adhikary

Global demand for gold fell by 9 percent in the third quarter, the World Gold Council reported Thursday.

World demand in the three months to the end of September dropped to 915 tons compared with a year earlier and thus stood at the lowest level since the third quarter of 2009.

"What caused the demand to be weak was first and foremost India," the WGC said in a statement. "If you look at the figures, Indian jewelry demand was down 25 percent [year on year], and coin demand 23 percent," Council Director John Mulligan noted.

China bucking the trend

India is the world's second-largest purchaser of gold after China, but has seen demand hit by a raft of government measures including a new tax system and anti-money laundering regulation.

By contrast, demand for gold in China jumped 13 percent in the reporting period, soaring by a staggering 57 percent for coins.

The United States was the best-performing industrialized Western jewelry market. "With demand of 26.9 tons, the US saw its strongest third quarter since 2012," WGC officials pointed out.

"The sound employment environment there has supported consumer sentiment this year" in the world's biggest economy, the WGC added.

Congo's illegal gold reserves

hg/aos (AFP/Reuters)