Economic recovery to boost gold demand in India this year: WGC

Gold demand a ppears to be positive in India as the consumer sentiment is likely to recover in 2021, from its dismal performance due to the coronavirus pandemic-r elated disr uptions and volatile price movement, according to a r eport b y the W orld Gold Council (WGC).

Initial da ta about the Dhanteras festi val in November sug gest tha t w hile jewellery demand was still below a verage, it had substantially r ecovered fr om the lows seen in t he second quarter (April-June 2020) of last y ear, accor ding to the report.

The r eport, titled 'Gold

Outlook 2021- Economi c recovery and lo w inter est rates set the tone', also said although global economic growth is lik ely t o r emain anaemic r elative t o its full potential for some time , gold's more stable price performance since mid-August may foster buying oppor tunities for consumers.

It said the economic recovery is likely to be realised in countries like China, which suffered heavy losses in early 2020, before the spread of the pandemi c is contr olled more ef fectively than in many western countries.

However, w ith the global economy operating well below potential and gold prices at historical high levels, consumer demand may remain subdued in other regions, it added.

World Gold Council Managing Dir ector (India) Somasundaram P R said, "The year 2020 tur ned out to be unprecedented in the scale and degree of uncertainty.”

Jewellery demand has substantially recovered from the lows seen in the April-June quarter of last year