The World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends (GDT) is the leading industry resource for data and opinion on world-wide gold demand. Our quarterly publication examines demand trends by sector and geography. The most recent review of the first quarter of 2013 comprises three sections:

Executive summary:

Key findings for first quarter 2013 examined by sector and region.

Global Gold Market: First quarter 2013 review

Jewellery: Fourth quarter recovery in the jewellery sector continued into the first quarter of this year.
Investment: The decline in investment demand relative to Q1 2012 was solely attributable to the net outflows from ETFs, which obscured the strong rise in investment for gold bars and coins at the retail level.

Bullion India, a unique platform which makes investing in gold and silver simpler, easier and affordable, is introducing a Business Associate network initiative across Maharashtra and Gujarat in order to partner it and change the way people invest in these precious metals. After getting a good response in the State within months of the launch, Bullion India and its Business Associate network comprising jewelers, brokers and financial planners/ advisors will now help more and more people to buy small quantities of pure physical gold and silver at the lowest possible price with the option of door-step deliveries or free storage.

In value terms, gold demand in 2012 was US$236.4bn – an all-time high. The annual volume of demand totalled 4,405.5 tonnes (t), down by 4% from 2011 as an increase in demand from institutional investors and central banks only partly offset a year-on-year decline in consumer demand.

Global gold demand in Q4 2012 was 1,195.9t, up 4% on the same quarter in 2011. Combined growth in jewellery and central bank demand exceeded declines in the investment and technology sectors to generate the increase in overall demand. In value terms, Q4 2012 was the highest fourth quarter total ever, worth a near-record US$66.2bn.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Indian Jewellery Market - Trends & Opportunities (2012 2017)" report to their offering.

“Indian Jewellery Market - Trends & Opportunities (2012 2017)”

Gold is a yellow metal and it is used along with other metals to produce jewellery masterpieces. 24 carat is the purest form of gold available on the surface of Earth. Demand for gold in India has witnessed an increasing trend in the past, despite soaring prices of gold for many years now.

Moreover, it has been observed that in India the demand of jewellery witnesses an increase during festivals such as Dhanteras and Akshay Tritiya.

 Reliance Money Precious Metals Pvt. Limited (RMPM), a Reliance Capital company, and World Gold Council, the market development organisation for the gold industry, have announced the launch of Reliance My Gold Plan.

This first-of- its-kind gold accumulation plan was launched by Mr. Vikrant Gugnani, CEO, Broking and Distribution Business, Reliance Capital, and Mr. Stephen Richardson, Director-Investment, World Gold Council.

Reliance My Gold Plan offers customers the unique opportunity to start accumulating physical gold using a daily average pricing methodology. A minimum subscription of Rs.1000 per month translates to accumulation of gold for as low as Rs. 50 per day.

The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) announced that AngloGold Ashanti Córrego do Sítio Mineração, the Brazil based gold producer, has achieved certification by meeting the highest ethical, social and environmental standards established by the RJC’s Member Certification system.

"RJC warmly congratulates AngloGold Ashanti Córrego do Sítio Mineração on its certification. The successful verification assessment was conducted by Paolo Andriollo from Bureau Veritas, one of the independent third-party auditing firms accredited to the RJC’s Member Certification system," says Michael Rae, RJC’s Chief Executive Officer.

Global gold demand in Q2 2012 was 990.0 tonnes (t), down 7% from the 1,065.8t in Q2 2011 according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report. This dip in demand was partly due to the comparison with exceptional demand last year, and also reflects the challenging global economic climate. In this context, gold performed as expected, acting as both a store of value and a source of liquidity.

Global gold demand in Q1 2012 was 1,097.6 tonnes (t), down 5% from the high demand levels seen in Q1 2011 (1,150.7t), according to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends report. This decrease was largely to be expected given the introduction of import taxes in India and high gold prices. Gold demand value however, showed a 16% increase year on year to an estimated US$59.7 billion. The average price of gold for the quarter was US$1,690.57, 22% higher than the average for Q1 2011.

The Indian government's decision to roll back excise duty on both branded and unbranded jewellery items will encourage gold imports to pick up soon. Following the decision taken by the government in March to double the gold import duty to 4 percent, the imports had slumped in the month of April which had an overall effect in the total gold imported by India this year.

For the first time since January, the global gold prices have declined below the $1600 an ounce mark. With Europe's political problems bringing down the Euro, and the dollar strengthening, gold prices have marginally dropped over the past few days. Gold prices have slumped over 3% over the last two days. On the domestic front, in India, gold plunged by Rs. 305 per 10 grams.

According to analysts, rupee is likely to strengthen based on the deferment of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) which may further lead the gold prices to come down in the Indian market.