Industry News

Gold continues to suffer in India, experts look ahead

With gold suffering as of late in India, many industry experts and analysts are wondering what the future has in store for the precious metal.

According to a report from the Hindustan Times, citing data from the World Gold Council, demand for gold throughout India dropped by 7 percent on a year-over-year basis between 2010 and 2011, with demand for gold jewelry dropping 14 percent during that time.

“Despite a challenging year, India remained the largest country for gold demand in 2011, and we believe that the strong intrinsic and emotional affinity towards gold in India will continue to fuel demand over the coming year,” Ajay Mitra, managing director, World Gold Council (Middle East and India), told the news source. 

As a result of the recent drop, India lost its top spot in the fourth quarter of 2011 to China in terms of gold demand. India continues to lag China in 2012, as China bought 190.6 tons of the metal compared to India's 173 tons, the news source states.

Gold prices ended the week steady as the dollar weakened while investors contemplated an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting. With continued economic uncertainty in the United States, bullion and gold mining stocks are likely to be good bets despite dropping demand in India. Gold exploration continues to flourish in fruitful regions like Sonora, Mexico, and in the United States and Canada.