India's Q3 gold demand jumps 13% to 268 tonnes: WGC

Mumbai: Gold demand in India during the July-September period increased by 13 percent to 268.1 tonnes mainly due to softening of the prices at the beginning of the quarter, World Gold Council has said.

The demand during the corresponding period last year stood at 238.2 tonnes.

In terms of value, the demand was up 5.8 percent to Rs 62,939 crore compared with Rs 59,480 crore in Q3 last year, Gold Demand Trends report of WGC said.

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"There has been a 13 percent growth in demand for gold in the July-September quarter. A softening of prices at the beginning of the quarter led to the consumers buying in advance for the festive and wedding season ahead,"  WGC Managing Director India Somasundaram PR said.

Jewellery demand for the third quarter was up by 15 percent at 211.1 tonnes compared with 184.2 tonnes in the same period last year.

In value terms, jewellery demand rose by 7.7 percent to Rs 49,558 crore from Rs 45,996 crore a year ago.

"Although, jewellery demand continues to dominate, at 211 tonnes jewellery volume for the quarter almost equalled the previous peak of 213 tonnes in Q3 2008, growth was broad based with both jewellery and investment demand up 15 percent and 6 percent, respectively, signifying the continuing reliance on gold in household portfolios and trust in its long-term prospects," Somasundaram added.

Total investment demand for Q3, was up by 6 percent at 57 tonnes compared with 54 tonnes last year.

In value terms, gold investment demand was flat as it witnessed a drop of 0.8 percent to Rs 13,381 crore from Rs 13,484 crore in same period last year.

Total imports also increased by 23.90 percent to 300.6 tonnes during the quarter compared with 242.6 tonnes.

"We expect demand to remain solid in Q4. This is the peak buying season of 'Dhanteras' and Diwali and gold remains at the centre of gifting traditions during this season.

"The gold schemes recently announced by the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) have also increased consumer choices on gold and created a more conducive environment where one can hold gold. Based on the demand for three quarters of this year, we estimate full year demand to be in the range of 850 to 950 tonnes, but this is still above the 811 tonnes of demand seen in 2014," Somasundaram added.