World Gold Council has issued its third quarter report of 2021, which shows demand for gold* fell 7% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter to 831t, primarily due to outflows from gold-backed exchange-traded funds (gold ETFs).
Net gold ETF sales were relatively small (27t), but when compared to the pandemic-induced buying surge of a year earlier, this was enough to place overall gold demand into a year-on-year decline, despite demand increasing in all other sectors. The gold price averaged US$1,790/oz throughout the quarter – down from Q3 2020’s all-time USD high, but above its 3yr, 5yr and 10yr averages. Louise Street, Senior Markets Analyst at the World Gold Council, said: “The relatively modest outflows from gold ETFs have had a disproportionate effect on this year’s figures, outweighing positivity almost everywhere else across the board”.
The latest Gold Demand Trends report for Q3 2021 include Overall demand (excluding OTC) declined in Q3 by 7% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter to 831t, Bar and coin demand was at 262t, an increase of 18% y-o-y and 8% q-o-q, Total supply 3% lowery-o-y at 1,239t despite mine production rising to the highest quarter on record. They-o-y drop was due to a sharp fall in recycling in response to lower gold prices and many more important highlights.
