Jewellery demand in H2 2015 was strongest for 11 years; full year 3% weaker
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Full-year jewellery demand declined 3% to 2,414.9t, pulled lower by the weak H1. Demand in H2 was much stronger, increasing by 2% to 1,299.9t – the highest H2 total since 2004. India was the best-performing market, contrasting with losses in Turkey, Russia and much of the Middle East.
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Marginal growth in bar and coin demand led by China, India and the US
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Investment demand grew by 8% in 2015, to 878.3t. Bar and coin demand inched up (to 263.5t) in the fourth quarter, resulting in marginal full-year growth. ETFs saw another year of outflows, although at 133.4t these were smaller than in 2014. [/table]
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Ongoing quest for diversification fuelled central bank purchases
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Central banks added 588.4t of gold to their reserves in 2015, marginally above the previous year’s total. Demand was concentrated in the second half of the year: 336.2t was bought between July and December, compared with 252.1t in the first half. [/table]
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Volumes of gold used in Technology continued to decline
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Familiar themes – of substitution and thrifting – were behind a 5% decline in annual gold demand in the technology sector. Slowing final product sales in key sectors were an added factor. Fourth quarter demand contracted by 7% to 84.5t. Continued development of new uses for gold in technological applications may offset the long-term downtrend. [/table]
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Total supply fell 4% to 4,258.3t, under pressure from both mine production and recycling
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Mine production grew by just 1% in 2015 – the slowest rate of growth for seven years – and recycling fell to multi-year lows. Annual de-hedging of 20.8t further reduced the supply of gold.[/table]
