Q1 gold demand falls 12% to 115.6 t; imports plunge 50%: WGC
Team Udayavani, May 4, 2018, 6:14 PM IST
Mumbai: Gold demand declined by a steep 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 to 115.6 tonne due to high prices and poor investment demand, the World Gold Council (WGC) said today.
In the March 2017 quarter, demand had stood at 131.2 tonne, WGC said in a report.
As demand fell by 12 per cent, imports plunged by a whopping 50 per cent in the first quarter to 153 tonne from 260 tonne a year ago, according to the report.
Demand fall was led poor jewellery demand which during the reporting quarter dipped 12 per cent to 87.7 tonne from 99.2 tonne a year ago.
In terms of value, demand fell 8 per cent to Rs 31,800 crore from Rs 34,440 crore.
“Decline in demand can be attributed to a number of factors, including the rising local gold prices, a substantial drop in the number of auspicious wedding days this year compared to the previous year, and an anticipation of an import duty cut in the Budget,” WGC India managing director PR Somasundaram told PTI.
“The transition to GST, especially by the unorganised sector, also affected demand to some extent,” he added.
He also said the PNB scam impacted the trade sentiment, which somehow got revived by the time of Akshaya Tritiya.
In value terms, jewellery demand dropped 7 per cent to Rs 24,130 crore from Rs 26,050 crore a year ago.
Investment demand plunged 13 per cent to 27.9 tonne from 32 tonne in the previous 12 months period.
In value terms, gold investment demand stood at Rs 7,660 crore, down 9 per cent from Rs 8,390 crore.
Total gold recycled also declined 3 per cent to 14.1 tonne from 14.5 tonne, the report said.
“The first quarter is not naturally a dynamic period for gold in the country as people usually settle their other financial commitments for tax purposes. Moreover, there was also no catalyst like duty cuts to trigger demand,” Somasundaram said.
The 50 per cent decline in imports to 153 tonne from 260 tonne was “mainly on account of subdued consumer demand, down-stocking following the GST transitional period and also on expectations of duty cut in the Budget,” he added.
Asked about import this year, Somasundaram said inward shipment is likely to be on similar lines with demand.
For the full year of 2018, he said, gold demand is expected to be in the range of 700-800 tonne.
“We are positive about demand going forward due to expectation of better monsoons and the resultant higher rural income and an overall better GDP growth. The compliance standard is growing and in the long-run it’s going to be positive and transform the industry,” he said.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
Sensex, Nifty decline on selling in IT shares, FII sellout; end Samvat 2080 with 22% gains
Sensex, Nifty decline in early trade on unabated foreign fund outflows, selling in IT stocks
Gold surges Rs 1,000 to breach Rs 82k-mark as Diwali sparkles demand
Car makers witness record sales on Dhanteras; Oct bookings up by 30%
Dhanteras begins on slow note; Jewellers expect footfalls to increase
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
Jayant Patil claims BJP used irrigation ‘scam’ to blackmail Ajit Pawar; Fadnavis, NCP chief hit back
Medical College expels 5 MBBS students from hostel for ragging juniors
Insulting women is in DNA of Cong leaders, alleges Jharkhand BJP
Man arrested from Delhi for calling up Pappu Yadav posing as aide of Lawrence Bishnoi
Tejasvi Surya hits out at Kharge, CMs of Cong-ruled states over poll promises
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.