Indian Wedding Demand Boosts Gold Sector

RAPAPORT... Global demand for gold jewelry rose 1% year on year to 530.3tonnes in the first quarter, buoyed by strong demand from the Indian market,the World Gold Council (WGC) reported Thursday. The market for gold jewelry in the country grew 5% to125.4 tonnes in the three months ending March 31, as local prices for the metal droppedsharply in the first week of March. Consumers took advantage of the lowerprices to make wedding-related purchases, as the number of auspicious days forgetting married was three times higher than in the same period the year before. The rise in India outweighed a 2% slowdown in Chinese demandto 184.1 tonnes, despite a boost from the Lunar New Year holiday. Purchases in thecountry softened under the volatile economic conditions and fears related to theinternational trade war, the WGC explained. US demand grew 1% to 24 tonnes - the highest for a first quarter in 10-years. Global demand for gold in all forms - such as bars andcoins, and for technology, finance, and investment - remained flat at 1,150tonnes. Image: Gold jewelry. (Pixabay)