The global demand for gold recorded sharp decline during the third quarter of the year, as financial investors sold off the yellow metal to take better advantage of the high prices. The demand hit the lowest level since Q4 last year, said the World Gold Council (WGC).
The Q3 gold demand has dropped steadily over the past three years. The total gold demand during the third quarter stood at 831 tonnes. This is significantly lower than the demand of 894.4 tonnes in the prior year quarter. The demand was even lower when matched with 1,084.9 tonnes in Q3 2019, said the gold trade body in its latest quarterly report. The WGC attributed the declining demand trend mainly to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meantime, the demand for gold from jewellers as well as smaller retail investors continued to remain strong during the quarter. The central bank purchases, which had witnessed a halt on account of the virus spread, resumed to normal levels. The jewellery demand is expected to exceed the levels witnessed in 2020. On the contrary, the overall investment demand will remain weaker in 2021, despite robust bar and coin demand, WGC noted.
Source By – ScrapMonster