29 April, 2026
| Tonnes | Q1'25 | Q1'26 | y/y % change | |
| Technology | 80.4 | 81.6 | 1 |
|
| Electronics | 67.1 | 69.3 | 3 |
|
| Other industrial | 11.3 | 10.4 | -8 |
|
| Dentistry | 2.1 | 2.0 | -7 |
|
Gold usage in the electronics space remained on a two-speed setting. Rapidly expanding AI infrastructure boosted demand for high-reliability and high-performance chips - technical specifications override cost considerations in these applications. Meanwhile, manufacturers in the price-sensitive consumer electronics market continued their efforts to reduce or replace gold in the face of record-breaking prices.
Gold demand in the electronics sector in Q1 rose by 3% y/y to 69t. Continued strength in global demand for AI infrastructure helped generate a March revenue uplift of 30% m/m for the world’s largest chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).1 But this was tempered by high gold prices, which negatively impacted shipments and sales of consumer electronics: memory prices, for example, almost doubled q/q, pushing up costs and eroding consumer purchasing capacity.
Regional performances varied: Mainland China (+5%) maintained steady growth due to domestic supply chain expansion despite ongoing geopolitical risks; South Korea (+7%) exceeded expectations with high memory output and strong fab utilisation rates; Taiwan Province of China (+9%) benefited from AI-related demand, while Japan (-1%) retreated slightly given its relatively high share of the consumer electronics market, which came under pressure to reduce or replace gold. The US (+6%) saw early gains from investment in domestic AI and EV semiconductor supply chains, while Europe (-3%) lagged amid weak manufacturing and consumer demand.
Gold demand in the LED segment fell slightly in Q1. Price pressures and structural shifts in legacy markets, such as general lighting, were largely offset by growth in high-end applications such as Mini/Micro LED, automotive lighting and UV LED. High-performance and high-reliability applications continued to rely on gold, with ultra-pure wires and solders remaining critical due to their superior performance characteristics.
Wireless and compound semiconductor use of gold also increased. The rollout of Wi-Fi 7, expansion of power amplifiers, and rising use of advanced power modules in automotive and AI data centres continued to support gold demand in these areas. Additional support came from LEO satellites, automotive LiDAR, and higher-speed optical communications, which require more advanced and thermally robust components.
Ongoing technical upgrades are also driving increased gold usage in devices; for example, AI servers and automotive power modules require more gold to dissipate large amounts of generated heat and to guarantee reliability and longevity. As a result, the growing share of advanced applications is strengthening and diversifying demand while increasing the sector’s resilience to demand fluctuations in traditional consumer electronics.
Gold demand in the memory and semiconductor sectors rose strongly in Q1. Healthy demand for DRAM and NAND is being fuelled by rising AI server shipments, significantly higher memory requirements per server, and increasing adoption of AI-enabled PCs and mobile devices. While traditional gold wire faces substitution pressures in lower-end applications, the AI boom continues to ramp up the need for high-purity gold in advanced applications. Overall, this is more than offsetting the decline in legacy uses, reinforcing gold’s critical role in the growing high-performance semiconductor manufacturing space.
Gold used in Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) rose in Q1, but remained polarised across end-use markets. Strength in AI-related substrates, LEO satellites and EV electronics offset weakness in traditional PCBs, hit by higher memory costs. At the same time, rising gold prices accelerated efficiency measures, including thinner or more selective plating, and increased use of palladium pre-plating solutions.
Gold used in other industrial and decorative applications (primarily gold-plating and gold thread used in traditional Indian clothing) fell by 8% to 10t as high gold prices prompted lower demand. Gold use in dentistry fell below 2t for the first time in our data series, on continued substitution to ceramic alternatives.
TSMC March 2026 Revenue Report | 10 April 2026.
