Global gold demand down due to lower investment: report

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Global demand for gold was down in 2017 from a year earlier as overall investment demand fell annually, according to a new World Gold Council report released on Tuesday.

Demand dropped 7 percent to 4,071 tons last year compared to the previous year, the council said in the report.

The report said that recovery in the fourth quarter failed to mitigate the full-year decline.

"Gold demand rallied, gaining 6 percent year-on-year to 1,095.8 tons in the fourth quarter," it said.

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) was almost one-third of the previous year's inflow, adding 202.8 tons to the demand.

Bar and coin demand was weak in 2017, down 2 percent compared to 2016 due to a sharp drop in the U.S. demand to a 10-year low of 39.4 tons, which exceeded strong gains in both China and Turkey, the report showed.

The report showed that official gold reserves were also lower 5 percent year-on-year to 371.4 tons and added:

"Turkey and Russia were the most prominent of the central bank buyers."

Jewelry demand remained below historical averages, though the sector saw the first annual increase since 2013, up 4 percent in 2017 with the back of India and China.

Gold demand in the technology sector also saw the first annual increase since 2010 supported by the rising prevalence of new-generation features in smartphones and vehicles.