The World Gold Council has issued its Gold Demand Trends reports for the second quarter of 2018, showing that gold demand was 4% weaker to 964.3t “on slower ETF (exchange-traded fund) inflows”. In the first half of the year, demand totaled 1,959.9t – the lowest since 2009.
According to the report, Q2 jewelry demand fell 2% to 510.3t, mainly because of a weaker Indian market. Bar and coin demand was “virtually unchanged”. Gold supply rose in a second consecutive quarter of growth – up 3% – reaching 1,120.2t.
Despite the Q2 decline, H1 jewelry demand was “scarcely changed” at 1,031.2t. Weaker demand in India and the Middle East during Q2 was partially offset by growth in China and the US. As for the technology sector, Q2 was the seventh consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth as demand grew 2% to 83.3t. According to the WGC, “gold used in electronics continues to thrive due to enduring demand for smartphones, games consoles and automotive electronics”.
