India's gold demand falls 9% in 2019 on economic slowdown, record prices; reforms may boost consumer confidence: WGC
FirstpostIn 2019, the WGC said India’s gold demand in volume terms declined to 690.4 tonnes from 760.4 tonnes in 2018, out of which jewellery demand fell nine percent to 544.6 tonnes from 598 tonnes. New Delhi: India’s gold demand fell nine percent to 690.4 tonnes in 2019 from the previous calendar year as record domestic prices and economic slowdown dented retail purchase, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. In 2019, the WGC said India’s gold demand in volume terms declined to 690.4 tonnes from 760.4 tonnes in 2018, out of which jewellery demand fell nine percent to 544.6 tonnes from 598 tonnes, while bar and coins demand also dropped 10 percent to 145.8 tonnes from 162.4 tonnes in the said period. Festival demand received some support from advance wedding purchases and a dip in the gold price ahead of the November wedding season released some pent-up wedding-related demand, but volumes were nevertheless soft compared with 2018, it said, and added, the slowdown was less pronounced among the more organised national and regional chain stores India’s gold import including through grey channels, the WGC said it declined by 14 percent to 646.8 tonnes in 2019 from 755.7 tonnes in 2018.