India gold demand rises 15% in March quarter: World Gold Council

Gold demand for the quarter ended March 2017 (Q1) rose 15 percent to 123.5 tonnes in India, the second-largest global consumer of the yellow metal. However, the increase needs to be seen in the context remaining low at 107.3 tonnes in March 2016 quarter due to the strike by jewellers against the re-introduction of 1 percent excise duty and the appreciation in rupee that made gold imports cheaper.

When see from a value perspective, the demand increased 18 percent to Rs 32,420 crore from Rs 27,540 crore in in the corresponding period last year, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) that released its "Gold Demand Trends" report on Thursday.

Jewellery demand rose by 16 percent to 92.3 tonnes in Q1 from



79.8 tonnes in the year-ago period, and in the process, lifted global jewellery demand.

"Gains in India were the main reason for the slight y-o-y increase, but global jewellery demand remains relatively weak in a historical context," the WGC said in its report. Global jewellery demand for gold remained almost flat at 480.9 tonnes but below the five-year quarterly average.

The second quarter (April to June) is also likely to be robust given the 30 percent rise reported on Akshaya Tritiya this year when compared to last year.

In contrast, jewellery demand fell 2 percent in China to 176.5 tonnes.

Overall, global gold demand fell 18 percent to 1,034.5 tonnes, year-on-year.