New Delhi, November 9: Gold demand in India was seen declining to its lowest in eight years in 2017. According to a World Gold Council (WGC) report, India’s gold demand in the third quarter this year fell 24 % to 145.9 tonnes due to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Along with GST, what kept Indian buyers away from buying was the anti-money laundering legislation (AML) around jewellery retail transactions. The report states that gold demand in India stood at 193 tonnes during the third quarter of 2016 “Tax and regulatory changes in India weighed on domestic gold demand. The new tax regime deterred consumers, as did anti-money laundering measures governing jewellery retail transactions”, WGC mentioned in its report.
n value terms, the gold demand declined by 30% at Rs 38,540 crore, compared to Rs 55,390 crore in the same period of 2016. Reports add that the total gold recycled in India in the third quarter of 2017 was 26.7 tonnes from 25.7 tonnes in the same period of 2016. It further said that the total jewellery demand for the third quarter dropped by 25 % at 114.9 tonnes compared to 152.7 tonnes in the same period of 2016. This in value terms means that the gold investment demand was at Rs 8,200 crore, down by 29 % from Rs 11,520 crore in the third quarter of 2016.
