Gold Demand Dropped 15% as ETP Sales Outpaced Purchases

Gold demand fell 15 percent last year as sales from bullion-backed funds and less central bank buying outpaced record consumer purchases that saw China overtake India as the largest user, the World Gold Council said.

Global demand declined to 3,756.1 metric tons in 2013, from 4,415.8 tons a year earlier, the London-based council said today in a report. As investors sold as much through gold-backed exchange-traded products as they bought in the previous three years combined, the steepest price drop since 1981 spurred a 28 percent jump in bar and coin buying and 17 percent increase in jewelry consumption. Chinese usage rose 32 percent to a record.