LAUNCESTON, Australia – (Reuters) – With gold demand slumping to the lowest in four years in the second quarter, bulls are grasping to hold on to anything positive and right now that means India and China.
If there was a bright spot in the World Gold Council’s (WGC)quarterly report, it was that demand in the world’s top two consumers surged.
India regained its lead over China by buying 310 tonnes in the second quarter, up 71 percent from the same period in 2012 and 21 percent above first quarter purchases.
China bought 275.7 tonnes in the second quarter, a jump of 87 percent from the same period last year, but 6 percent below the first quarter’s demand.
But even the strong demand in the Asian giants wasn’t enough to offset the dramatic outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw 402.2 tonnes of sales, more than double the 176.5 tonnes that flowed out in the first quarter.