The investment in gold bars and coins witnessed sharp rise during the third quarter of 2018, says the latest Gold Demand Trends Report published by the World Gold Council (WGC). The surge was mainly due to increased interest shown by investors across the globe in taking advantage of the gold price drop. The stock market rout coupled with concerns with regards to currency weakness made investors turn to gold.
The demand growth was led by China, whose demand totaled 86.5t during the quarter, significantly higher by 25% when matched with the corresponding quarter in 2017. Several factors contributed to the demand growth. Firstly, trade war tensions impacted domestic equities and bonds. The country’s leading equity index declined by almost 15% till September. The dip in gold prices boosted buying activity in gold. For instance, the domestic benchmark gold prices had hit its lowest level since 2016 in August this year.
The bar and coin demand in India was up by 11% in Q3 this year, mainly aided by lower gold prices and extended weakness in equities.
Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia too recorded rise in gold bar and coin demand during Q3 ’18. The Middle East region’s demand skyrocketed by 144% over the previous year. The regional demand touched 27.8t, the highest level since Q2 ’13. Iranian bar and coin demand spiked to five-and-a-half year high. The European demand was up by 10%. Also, U.S. bar and coin market registered 74% year-on-year growth in demand.
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