Gold demand slid to 8-year low in 2017 - WGC

The World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest quarterly demand trends report published on Tuesday, global gold demand slid 7% in 2017 to 4,071.7 tonnes, hitting an eight-year low, Reuters reports.

Key Points:

“A late rally in physical gold buying failed to prevent a drop in full-year demand last year to its lowest since 2009

Investment demand fell by nearly a quarter, driven by reduced inflows into bullion-backed exchange traded funds  

Total Chinese buying stood at 953.3 tonnes last year, while Indian demand reached 726.9 tonnes, the WGC said. It expects to see buying at similar levels this year, with Indian demand seen at 700-800 tonnes, and Chinese offtake at 900-1,000 tonnes.

Central banks also trimmed their overall purchases for a fourth straight year.”

The WGC’s head of market intelligence Alistair Hewitt noted: “Certainly the higher equities and rising interest rates will have prompted some investors to think about their allocation to gold (last year). That said, lots of investors are concerned about frothy asset prices.”