India’s Q1 gold demand bounces again; demand up 37% at 140 tonne: WGC

India’s gold demand recovered through the January-March interval to witness a development of 37 per cent at 140 tonne in comparison with the identical quarter of 2020, resulting from ease of COVID-related restrictions, pent up demand and softening of costs of the yellow metallic, in accordance with the World Gold Council (WGC).
The general gold demand stood at 102 tonne through the first quarter of 2020, as per WGC information.
Gold demand in worth phrases elevated by 57 per cent through the first quarter of this calendar yr to Rs 58,800 crore in comparison with Rs 37,580 crore within the corresponding interval of 2020.

Total jewelry demand was up by 39 per cent at 102.5 tonne in comparison with 73.9 tonnes throughout January-March 2020.
In phrases of worth, jewelry demand grew by 58 per cent to Rs 43,100 crore from Rs 27,230 crore in the identical quarter of final yr.
Investment demand for the quarter underneath evaluate elevated by 34 per cent to 37.5 tonne as compared with 28.1 tonne in the identical interval of 2020, whereas in worth phrases it was up by 53 per cent at Rs 15,780 crore from Rs 10,350 crore throughout January-March of final yr.
Total gold recycled within the nation witnessed a drop of 20 per cent through the first quarter of this calendar yr at 14.8 tonne in comparison with 18.5 tonne in the identical quarter of 2020.
Net bullion imports in India throughout January-March 2021 stood at 301 tonne in comparison with 83.1 tonne within the corresponding interval of final yr, a rise of 262 per cent.
“India’s first quarter of CY 2021 gold demand rose 37 per cent to 140 tonne on the again of COVID containment and optimistic sentiment following the beginning of the vaccination programme.
“A combination of softening gold prices to around Rs 47,000 per 10 grams, buoying consumer sentiment following sharp pick-up in economic activity and return of social activities like weddings supported a 39 per cent growth year-on-year (YoY) in gold jewellery demand at 102.5 tonne,” WGC Managing Director, India, Somasundaram PR informed PTI right here.
The common home gold worth of Rs 47,131 per 10 gram was 14 per cent greater YoY however 6 per cent decrease quarter-on-quarter and 16 per cent decrease than the August 2020 peak of Rs 56,000, he famous.
“Slide in gold prices below Rs 50,000 removed a psychological barrier for the consumers and spurred bargain buying and wedding-related accumulation, releasing pent-up demand. Indian retail gold investment demand also improved for a third consecutive quarter. Bar and coin demand grew 34 per cent YoY, the strongest first quarter in India since 2015,” he identified.
Further, he stated, a discount in customs responsibility on gold, along with an appreciating rupee all through a lot of the quarter, additionally helped decrease costs and offered important shopping for alternatives for retail traders.
Robust shopper demand, mixed with inventory constructing among the many commerce forward of key festivals, together with Akshaya Tritiya in May, have been the first drivers of the sturdy rise in imports, Somasundaram stated.
“The outlook for the coming quarter is, however, cautious. As lockdowns are re-imposed in various regions of the country in response to rising COVID-19 cases, consumer confidence has dipped. This is likely to impact wedding demand in the second quarter,” he stated.

Digital and omni-channel retail methods developed over the past yr by many gamers could cushion the drop not like the second quarter of 2020, however the present disaster is past simply economics and logistics, due to this fact, sentiment could also be affected until giant scale vaccination is achieved, he opined.
“We are unable to quantify the impact on full year gold demand as we do not have sight of several critical factors currently at play,” he added.