Published: 2019.08.14. WGC: global gold demand up 8%

WGC: global gold demand up 8% - Preview

According to the World Gold Council, the global demand for gold in the second quarter of 2019 increased by + 8% to 1,123 tons. Moreover, the supply of yellow precious metals in the world market for this period amounted to 1,186.7 tons.

The WGC published a quarterly review of the global gold market. It contains data for the second quarter, as well as general results for the first half of 2019. According to estimates by analysts at GFMS, global gold demand from April to June 2019 increased to 1.123 tons, which is + 8% more than the same period in 2018 According to the results of the first half of the year, the demand for gold amounted to 2.181.7 tons, which corresponds to the maximum over the past three years. Such numbers are given in the statistics of the GFMS.

The largest contribution to the growth of demand for gold in the world was made by the Central banks of some countries. In the first half of the year, net purchases of precious metals on their part amounted to 374.1 tons. These numbers became an absolute record for the first half of the last 9 years, that is, since 2010, Russia, China, Turkey, Kazakhstan became the leaders in purchasing gold and, unexpectedly , Poland.

Global demand for jewelry in the 2nd quarter grew by + 2% to 531.7 tons. This was mainly possible due to the restoration of the jewelry market in India. There, the growth was + 12% to 168.8 tons. The Chinese jewelry market has been showing a drop in demand for the third quarter in a row. The decrease was -4% to 137.8 tons.

Investment demand for gold increased by + 1%, primarily due to the influx of capital into ETF funds. The reserves of “gold” ETF funds increased in the 2nd quarter by 67.2 tons to the level of 2.548 tons. But at the same time, it is worth noting the decline in demand for gold coins and bullion by -12% to 218.6 tons. In China, this figure fell to 49.5 tons. In Europe and the USA, there was also a decrease in demand for investment coins and gold bullion. And only in India was growth recorded + 13% to 44.5 tons.

Industrial demand for gold was rather weak in the 2nd quarter. The total volume of precious metals used in industry decreased by -3% to 81.1 tons compared to 2018. This is the third consecutive quarter, when a drop in industrial demand for gold has been recorded.

It follows from the WGC review that the global supply of gold in the 2nd quarter of this year amounted to 1,186.7 tons - an increase of + 6% compared to 2018. During this time, gold mining in the world grew by + 9% to 882.6 tons. 3.14.6 tons from secondary processing should be added here. Analysts from GFMS calculated that in the first half of 2019, the global supply of yellow precious metals amounted to 2.323.9 tons, which is a record value for the first half of the last three years.