Gold buyer doubles imports
YLG Bullion International Co expects to more than double purchases this year after the bear market in prices spurred a surge in demand for physical metal.
Chief executive Pawan Nawawattanasub on Tuesday said the company may import 200 tonnes this year, up from 92 tonnes last year.
First-half shipments advanced to 112 tonnes or 60% of the country’s total, she said.
A tonne is valued at US$42.4 million.
Gold has tumbled 21% this year, heading for t he first annual retreat since 2000, with some investors losing faith in the metal as a store of wealth.
The Londonbased World Gold Council said with prices now 32% below the record reached in September 2011, the rout is boosting demand for bullion bars and coins, global sales of which surged 78% to an all-time high in the second quarter.
‘‘Cheaper prices are attracting customers to buy bullion bars, as they see it as money better spent than on something like an Hermes bag,’’ said Ms Pawan, whose company supplies retailers and investors in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.
‘‘Demand in Thailand can continue to grow, partly because collecting gold is in our culture.’’
Gold advanced as much as sevenfold after 2000, reaching a peak of $1,921.15 an ounce in a 12-year winning streak that was the longest in at least nine decades.
The metal traded at $1,324.65 an ounce yesterday in London, having entered a bear market in April.
Goldman Sachs Group, Societe Generale SA and Credit Suisse Group are among those anticipating further declines.
Demand in Thailand rose by 58% year-on-year in the second quarter to 26.6 tonnes, World Gold Council data show.
The nation was the third-largest Asian user last year after India and China and ranked seventh globally.
Individual investors account for about half of gold purchases, said Ms Pawan, who has worked in the gold and jewellery business for two decades.