Demand for physical gold in the form of jewelry recovered in the second quarter but remains far from pre-pandemic levels, observed the World Gold Council (CMO) in a report released Thursday, when that of financial investors fell drastically.
Consumers bought gold jewelry for a total weight of 390.7 tonnes between April and June, "
60% more than in the same quarter of last year
", highlights the quarterly report of the institution.
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This market segment "
should continue to recover during the second half of the year,
" forecast CMO analysts.
But the comparison to last year is misleading.
Looking at a longer time, the demand for jewelry since the start of the year is in fact 17% lower than the average observed during the first semesters of 2015 to 2019. “
Demand is improving but is well below. levels before the pandemic
", supports Krishan Gopaul, CMO analyst for the Europe, Middle East and Africa zone questioned by AFP,"
in part because of the weak growth in Indian demand
".
Financiers reduce their demand for gold
The surge in coronavirus cases among the world's second-largest consumer of gold jewelry in the spring is the main cause, continues Krishan Gopaul, as illustrated by the fall in demand in the country compared to the first quarter.
Bullion and coins, also popular with retail investors, are doing better as they experienced a fourth consecutive quarterly increase, with demand equivalent to 243.8 tonnes over the period.
A first since 2013.
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At the same time, financial investors continued to detach themselves from ETFs, these listed financial securities indexed to the price of the yellow metal. Demand has shrunk dramatically with barely 40 tonnes of gold in the second quarter, ten times less than last year at the same period but still more than in the first quarter of 2021 which had seen the equivalent. of 177.9 tons leave the market. “
While ETFs are unlikely to repeat the record performance of 2020, the need for effective risk hedging and the maintenance of a low interest rate environment gives us confidence that investors will strengthen their strategic allocations throughout. the rest of the year
", Advance Louise Street, analyst at the World Gold Council quoted in a press release accompanying the report.
Stable demand over one year
Last year, marked by the most uncertain economic context triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, favored safe-haven stocks, with gold being considered by investors as the first of them.
This appetite had pushed the yellow metal to a record level last August, at 2,075 dollars an ounce.
These days it is hovering around $ 1,800 an ounce.
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With the two antagonistic movements - physical interest and financial relief - balancing out, global gold demand finally remained stable in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year, at 955.1 tonnes of gold, against 960.1 tons between April and June 2020. It even increased in comparison with the first quarter, which recorded a demand of 815.7 tons, again according to the CMO. Central banks for their part added 199.9 tonnes of gold to their reserves in the second quarter, mainly due to Thailand, Hungary and Brazil. The institution anticipates a "
modest
" by the end of the year. Total gold supply in the second quarter finally rose 13% from the previous year, again a flattering comparison due to disruptions in mining production last year.