The World Gold Council’s latest Gold Demand Trends report reveals that gold demand (excluding OTC) in the third quarter of 2022hit 1,181tonnes, up 28% year-on-year.Strong demand pushed the year-to-date total toits pre-COVID levels.
Investors sought to hedge inflation with bar and coin investment,driving total retail demand up 36% y-o-y. This was supported by significant purchasing in Turkey(up more than fivefoldy-o-y) and in Germany (up 25% y-o-y at 42t), but also from visible contributions across all major markets.
Jewellery consumption continued to rebound and is now back to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 523t –10% higher compared to Q3 2021. Much of this growth was spearheaded by India’s urban consumers who drove up demand 17%y-o-y to 146t. Similarly impressive growth was also seen in much of the Middle East, withSaudi Arabian jewellery consumption up 20% since Q3 2021, andUnited Arab Emirates up 30% for the same period. Just as consumer gold demandfirmed, central bank buying picked up significantlywith estimated record purchases of nearly 400t in the third quarter.This pattern reflects insights from our recent central bank survey, in which 25% of respondents said they intended to increase their gold reserves in the next 12 months.