New records for global gold market in 2011
Global demand for gold in 2011 rose to 4,067.1 tonnes worth an estimated US$205.5 billion - the first time that global demand has exceeded US$200 billion and the highest tonnage level since 1997, according to World Gold Council.
In the Gold Demand Trends report released on Thursday, the council revealed that the main driver for this increase was the investment sector where annual demand was 1,640.7t up 5 per cent on the previous record set in 2010 and with a value of US$82.9 billion.
The pre-eminent markets for investment demand in 2011 were India, China and Europe. Central banks continued the trend established in 2010 of being net buyers of gold.
Marcus Grubb, managing director for Investment, remarked that two main factors driving the results were Asian growth and optimism on the one hand and western desire to protect assets against uncertainty on the other.
"Looking particularly at Asia, there was a major boost to the overall figures from the increase in Chinese demand, which is a trend that we see continuing over the next year. It is likely that China will emerge as the largest gold market in the world for the first time in 2012 demand terms. What is certain is that the long-term fundamentals for gold remain strong, with a diverse and growing demand base, coupled with constrained supply side activity,” said Grubb.
