Pursuits
Gold Demand Slid 13% to Three-Year Low on Investor ETP Sales
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Gold demand dropped 13 percent to the lowest in three years in the first quarter as record exchange-traded product sales by investors outweighed a surge in buying from China and India, the World Gold Council said.
Global demand fell to 963 metric tons in the quarter, from 1,107.5 tons a year earlier, the London-based industry group said today in a report. Record jewelry demand in China helped push the country’s total consumption above India, last year’s top buyer. Retail investment and jewelry demand in both nations jumped a combined 23 percent in the quarter. While central-bank purchases fell 5.2 percent, they totaled more than 100 tons for the seventh straight quarter.