Gold demand worldwide at highest level since Q2 2013

London

GLOBAL gold demand hit its highest in more than two years in the third quarter as July's price drop boosted buying of jewellery, coins and bars, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.

Overall demand reached 1,121 tonnes in the last quarter, up 8 per cent year on year to its highest since the second quarter of 2013. The rise was tempered by increased outflows from bullion-backed exchange-traded funds, however.

Bar and coin buying more than tripled in the US to a five-year high of 32.7 tonnes, and also rose 70 per cent in China and 35 per cent in Europe. That followed a more than 6 per cent slide in spot gold prices in July, their biggest monthly drop in two years. "The price dip represented a buying opportunity for people to dive into the market and increase their gold exposure,"Alistair Hewitt, the World Gold Council's (WGC) market intelligence manager, said. "The additional degree of uncertainty that has been imbued within people as a result of the financial crisis underpins people's desire for gold bars and coins. When you have that as an underlying factor, and you see a p…