World Gold Council Reports Gold Demand Fell 11%

For the first quarter of this year, according to the World Gold Council, total demand for gold dropped 11% from the fourth quarter of '09.

Global consumption fell to 760.2 metric tons in the quarter as exchange-traded fund investment and jewelry demand slowed, the London-based industry group said in a report today. Jewelry usage will likely rebound this year as Western manufacturers restock, Indian buyers become more accustomed to higher prices and China’s economy continues to expand, it said.

Given the fears about investment demand, it was interesting that the category slumped 22% in the same time period. Since then, it's rebounded. Jewelry demand fell only 9%. Since the same quarter last year, jewelry demand was up 43% while investment demand was down 69%.


It seems that the worries about investment demand imploding, and the price of gold along with it, were extensions of already-existing trends. The worries may prove to be little more than sound and fury for now, as the trend has clearly reversed.