india getting back into gold buying, page-4

Parrot, looks like investment (& jewelery) demand for Gold in India is now soaring...surely we are not going to believe they are the only BRIC country getting in on the action?



India gold demand near record: WGC
Akshaya Tritiya festival may have been a damp squib, but India's gold demand for the quarter to end-March was robust, and could match the levels seen in the first quarter of 2007, when total demand stood at 211 tonnes, a senior official of the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Monday.

Demand for gold in Q1 has been robust, growth in value terms are in double digits, close to 40-45 percent..., Ajay Mitra, managing director India and Middle East, WGC, said in an interview, ahead of the release of quarterly demand figures on Wednesday, adding they look close to 2007 numbers.

We expect the momentum to continue in coming months on excess surplus cash and liquidity, said Mitra, adding gold offers better returns than other asset class.

Mitra sees further growth in investments into Exchange Traded Funds (ETF).

The 3-4 tonnes of increase in investment in ETFs in recent months is remarkable and could be the next driver for growth, Mitra said.

India's gold collection under exchange-traded funds more than doubled to cross the 10-tonne mark in April, data from the funds showed.