Gold Focus: Items tagged with "gold demand"

Central banks demand creeps higher in February

In February, central banks bought a net 36 tonnes (t) of gold, almost a third higher than January’s net purchases, but 52% lower y-o-y. This brings y-t-d net purchases to 64.5t, 44% lower than the 116.1t of net purchases over the first two months of 2019.

Potential impact of the coronavirus on gold

It’s been less than two months since the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID19) was first reported in China, and a recurring question we hear from investors is: ‘How might gold react to an epidemic like this?’

Webinar: Gold Demand Trends Q4 and FY 2019

Watch today's Gold Demand Trends webinar, where we discussed the drivers of gold demand from Q4 and FY 2019.

 

China’s wholesale physical gold demand rose further in December

Gold prices rebounded in December, concluding 2019 as the best year for CNY-denominated gold in nine years.

Webinar: Gold Demand Trends, Q3 2019

Watch today’s Gold Demand Trends webinar where we discussed the key shifts in gold demand during Q3 2019 as the price reached a six-year high.

Higher prices and custom duty dampened Indian demand in July

• Indian gold imports reached just 37.7t in July 2019 – 49% lower than the same month last year 
• The domestic gold price was 2.3% higher in July compared to June; 23% higher y-t-d
• The custom duty on gold was unexpectedly raised by 2.5% in the Union Budget on 5th July
• With elevated domestic gold prices and a higher custom duty, the discount in the local gold market reached a peak of US$28/oz in July
• Volatile prices and weak physical demand encouraged healthy gold futures trading on MCX: volumes touched a high of 46.8t in July

Coming soon: monthly blog posts on India and China

We will soon be launching two regular blog posts– monthly updates on India and China by Mukesh and Ray, our analysts in Mumbai and Shanghai. These monthly posts will provide a snapshot of the health of these two global heavyweights, which together account for around half of annual global consumer demand. 

India’s gold import duties rise

Summary

• On 6th July, India’s gold import duty increased from 10% to 12.5% as part of a revenue-raising budget
• We believe it will have a negligible long-term effect on gold demand
• We think it may be a temporary measure: when the government’s books are in better shape we may see some of these tax increases rolled back
• The market will be supported by other government initiatives, including the structural reforms such as the India Gold Spot Exchange and plans to boost rural incomes