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Welcome to the winter edition of Gold Investor, where leading commentators and market participants discuss new developments for gold and its evolving global role.

This report covers key stages in the hallmarking journey in order to ascertain what works best in other jurisdictions and how India can maximise the benefits of mandatory hallmarking. 

Changes are afoot in the technology sector. Smartphones are becoming increasingly powerful, electric and self-driving vehicles could revolutionise the automotive industry, and emerging nanotechnology could transform solar energy. All of this could have a positive impact on gold demand.

Cranfield School of Management and the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School launched a joint report examining the creation of the Conflict-Free Gold Standard by the World Gold Council.

The third quarter saw a 9% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in gold demand to 915 tonnes (t). Year-to-date (y-t-d) demand was down by 12%.  ETFs had another quarter of positive inflows, but at 18.9t, they fell far short of the 144.3t influx in Q3 2016. 

Germany’s gold investment market has boomed in the past 10 years. In the face of successive financial crises and loose monetary policy, German investors turned to gold to protect their wealth.

With an annual demand of approximately 800-900 tonnes, the size of the Indian gold market is second only to that of China. Despite its significant size and important global position, the Indian gold market is unable to realise its potential due to multiple challenges.

Sovereign wealth funds, like many other investors, are under pressure to generate returns in a low-yield, low growth environment. Many are expanding into alternative assets to seek growth and income opportunities. Despite this, few sovereign wealth funds have invested in gold due to ongoing misconceptions about gold’s performance, financial behaviour, and liquidity.

Welcome to the autumn edition of Gold Investor, where leading commentators and market participants discuss new developments for gold and its evolving global role.