São Paulo – Global demand for gold jewelry reached a seven-year low last year at 2,041 tons, a 15% drop over 2015. The information was made public by Gulf News on Friday (3), quoting the World Gold Council (WGC).
Not even a rebound driven by the drop in price, in the wake of the United States presidential elections, was enough to turn the annual result around, or even the fourth quarter’s – when sales were down 5% from Q4 2015.
The high price of gold scared buyers off: it peaked at 25% in September against the year-ago period. After that, the precious metal depreciated and ended 2016 up 8% over 2015.
Still, demand for gold bars climbed by 2% last year to 4,308.7 tons – the highest amount in three years, with demand coming mostly from investors who buy gold for financial safety. Exchange-trade funds (ETFs) reached 513.9 tons, in the second highest annual result ever.
Central banks were more in line with retail, with consumption ending the year at 384 tons, the lowest since 2010 and down 33% from 2015 numbers.
Demand for coins and bars reached 1,029.2 tons in 2016, down 2% from the previous year, with Middle East at a meager 18.1 tons, according to the WGC: “Weak currencies, high local prices and an oil price driven economic slowdown weighed on demand across the region,” it said.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
