WGC Q1 2013 Gold Demand Summary

Last Thursday the World Gold Council released the 2013 first quarter Gold demand data. The numbers shown below are extraordinarily bullish for the long term outlook for Gold.

To read the full report visit http://mintstategold.com/WGC_Gold_Demand_Q1_2013.pdf

Consumers power Gold jewelry demand, up 12% in Q1 2013
Q4 2012 recovery in the jewelry sector continued into the first quarter of this year. Global jewelry demand of 551 tonnes, a record of US$28.9bn, surpasses the previous quarter’s record.

Q1 2013 Gold investment: ETFs down 177 tonnes, bars & coins physical demand up 378 tonnes
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.

Technology Gold demand contracted 4% in Q1 2013
In the first quarter of 2013, demand for Gold in the technology sector declined by 4% year-on-year to 102 tonnes. In value terms, demand was 7% lower at US$5.4bn.

Central banks continue steady level of Gold purchases in Q1 2013
Central banks added 109.2t of Gold to their reserves in Q1 2013, the ninth consecutive quarter of net purchases. This sector accounted for 11% of the demand in the first quarter, worth a value of US$5.7bn.

Total supply of Gold little changed in Q1 2013, up 1% year-on-year to 1,051.6 tonnes
A modest year-on-year increase in Q1 mine production was countered by a decline of a similar magnitude in the supply or recycled Gold with the net result that total supply grew by 1%.