India's gold demand likely to soften in third-quarter on record high local price, rural distress: WGC
FirstpostIndian gold futures hit a record high of Rs 35,409 per 10 grams in July. Mumbai: India’s gold demand is expected to soften in the September quarter as record-high local prices dampen buying in the world’s second-biggest consumer of the precious metal, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. Rural distress, higher prices and a hike in India’s import tax could dampen demand during the September quarter, said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC’s Indian operations. Meanwhile, scrap gold supplies in India could increase 15 percent in 2019 to around 100 tonnes as the rally in local gold prices prompts consumers to sell old trinkets and jewellery, he said. India’s gold consumption in the June quarter rose 13 percent to 213.2 tonnes on higher jewellery and investment demand, helping India surpass China as the biggest consumer of the metal in the world for the first time since the December quarter of 2013, the WGC said in its report.