Gold bullion in demand is soaring worldwide, particularly in India, China, and Europe. The cartel will have to ramp up their paper shorting in able to keep things at a managed retreat, vs. full-out onslaught.
Confirming what most will have felt intuitively, new figures say that global demand for gold rose to an all-time high in 2011 off the back of record investment demand.
At an estimated 4,067.1 tonnes worth $205.5 billion, demand exceeded $200 billion for the first time ever, with this figure also representing the highest tonnage level since 1997, according to the World Gold Council.
The WGC said that the investment sector was the driver of this level of unprecedented demand, accounting for 1,640.7 tonnes ($82.9 billion worth) of the gold, up 5 per cent on the previous record of 2010.
India, China and Europe were the markets hankering most for the precious metal, with the first two “cultural heartlands of gold” accounting for 55 per cent of global jewellery demand and 49 per cent of overall demand, the WGC said.
India’s demand amounted to 933.4 tonnes, which the organization said was “notable considering the volatility of the gold price and the weakness of the Indian rupee against the US dollar during the second half of the year.” Of this demand, jewellery represented over 500 tonnes and the investment market 366 tonnes, and India also accounted for a quarter of the world’s total bar and coin demand.
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