The World Gold Council (WGC) in its report on trends in demand for gold reported that global demand for gold jewelry fell by 10% in 2014 to a level of 2,152.9 tons, although this figure is still higher average for five years of the level of 2053 tons. In the fourth quarter of last year, the demand for gold was 575 tons, which is 1% higher than in the same period in 2013.
The total demand for gold was 3923.7 tons for the entire 2014 (compared with 4,087.6 tons in 2013). The decline of 4% did not come as a surprise to the experts, as demand could not reach the record levels of the previous year. The end of the year turned out to be successful, demand for precious metal in the fourth quarter of 2014 grew by 6% to 987 tons, growth factors were demand for jewelry and purchases by central banks of various countries. The level of supply for gold stopped at 4278.2 tons. The growth of gold mining was balanced by the largest decline in the processing of precious metal in seven years.
Demand for gold from the technology sector fell to the lowest level since 2003 at 389 tons, a drop of 5%. It was due to unfavorable economic conditions in the main markets and the continued abandonment of gold in favor of its substitutes.
WGC's Managing Director for Investment Strategy, Marcus Grubb, commented on the 2014 report: "Last year was held under the banner of stability and innovation of the gold market, the recession for gold was only 4% after the record indicators of 2013. It was also an outstanding year for the Indian jewelry industry, despite the government's limited import of precious metal, which once again proved the love of this nation for gold jewelry. At the same time, demand in China returned to the levels of 2011-2012, as consumers and investors are on the rise There was a respite after the substantial purchases of 2013 ".