LONDON (Nov 15, 2012): Global gold demand dropped 11%
in the three months to September from record levels seen in the same
period last year, dampened mainly by fading Chinese fervour as its
economy slowed, with stronger Indian demand stemming a larger fall, the
World Gold Council (WGC) said.
Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/15/business/20121115080606&sec=business
Published: November 16, 2012
Source from (The Sun Daily): http://www.thesundaily.my/news/541741
Published: November 16, 2012
Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/goldem/Article/
Published: November 16, 2012
Chinese gold consumption fell 8% in the July to September period to
176.8 tonnes, the WGC's quarterly demand trends report showed on
Thursday, with both jewellery and investment demand hurt by a slowing
economic growth.
Data last month showed China's economy slowed for a seventh straight
quarter in the July to September period. Chinese bar and coin investment
dropped 12% to 53 tonnes, while jewellery buying fell 5% to 123.8
tonnes.
"The fall in Chinese demand coincides with weaker economic numbers in
China in Q3," the WGC's managing director of investment research Marcus
Grubb said.
"There is some evidence that the economic situation is stabilising in
China and recovery is starting... it's possible that the stimulus
measures have worked and the economy has bottomed out.
"If that's true, we won't see a repeat of this Chinese weakness in the fourth quarter," he said.
China is second to India as the world's biggest gold consumer. Indian
demand rose in the last quarter by 9% to 223.1 tonnes, reversing the
trend of the previous three quarters, with pent-up consumer demand
lifting the market.
First-half buying was dented by jewellers' strikes, a hike in import duty and a dearth of auspicious days for weddings.
"Finally we're starting to see the Indian market come back," Grubb
said. "And the anecdotal evidence is good looking forward to fourth
quarter demand - premiums are high again in the Mumbai market, and the
strength of the rupee has meant you have seen rupee prices moderate
somewhat."
India's consumer gold demand remains down 24% in the first
three-quarters of the year, however, and is unlikely to record a net
increase in 2012 as a whole, the WGC said.
Global jewellery consumption dipped 2% to 448.8 tonnes, while coins
and bar demand fell 30%. European investors, particularly in
German-speaking markets, accounted for half of the 128.1-tonne decrease
in bar and coin demand.
"European investment is lower than it's been for some time in the
retail market. You're not seeing that insurance demand and safe asset
demand from Germany and Switzerland that we were seeing last year,"
Grubb said.
Coin and bar demand also fell by 52% in the US to 10.5 tonnes, and by
66% in Turkey to 7.9 tonnes. Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand also saw
large declines.
Bullion demand to back gold exchange-traded funds - which issue
securities backed by physical metal - jumped to 136 tonnes from 87.4
tonnes, however.
Central banks continued to diversify their reserves into gold in the
third quarter, but buying was down by nearly a third year-on-year.
Official sector demand reached 97.6 tonnes last quarter, down from 140.8
tonnes a year before.
Grubb said in the full year demand was likely to outstrip 2011's 47-year high.
"The quarter was bad, but we're still ahead of where we were last
year, which was a record going back to 1964," he said. "If we get
another 100 tonnes or so in the fourth quarter, you're talking a figure
for the full year that's higher than 2011." – Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment