India's gold demand experienced a sharp decline of 70 percent in the second quarter of 2020, when compared to the same period of last year, amid the coronavirus-related lockdown and high gold prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) India's gold demand experienced a sharp decline of 70 percent in the second quarter of 2020, when compared to the same period of last year, amid the coronavirus-related lockdown and high gold prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.
"The quarter was defined by lockdowns and high prices, both of which acted in combination to keep India's gold demand record low at 63.7 tonnes, down 70%," Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations, said, as quoted by The Hindu newspaper.
India's gold demand plunged from 213.2 tonnes to 63.7 tonnes the lowest figure in more than a decade according to the WGC.
Meanwhile, India's demand for jewelry fell even more, by 74 percent, and reached 44 tonnes.
India is the world's second-largest consumer of gold after China, where the demand for gold also reportedly fell by 38 percent to 323 tonnes in the first half of 2020 for the same reasons the COVID-19 restrictions and high prices. On a global scale, the demand for gold has decreased by 11 percent, according to the WGC
The gold price increased by almost 20 percent this year. On Monday, the price exceeded the historical maximum of $1,911.6 per ounce and continued to rise. As of Thursday, the gold price is around $1,951 per ounce.
