Vietnam's gold demand way down in 2014
Vietnam's gold demand way down in 2014
The recent report published by the World Gold Council (WGC) says that Vietnam’s gold demand tumbled during 2014. Despite marginal rise in jewelry consumption, the overall gold demand by the country fell 29% during the year.
The yearly gold consumption by the country during last year totaled 69.1 metric tons when compared with the consumption of 97 metric tons during 2013. Out of this, gold for jewelry accounted for 12.7 tons, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the total gold consumption by the country during the year. The jewelry gold demand has increased by 4% over the previous year. In terms of value, the 2014 gold demand by Vietnam dropped 36% to nearly $2.9 billion, WGC noted. However, Vietnam along with India was ‘outperformer’ in the Asian region where jewelry demand mostly remained weak.
On the other hand, the country’s gold bar consumption demand totaled 56.4 tons in 2014, dropping by almost one-third when compared with the previous year. The shortage of gold bars spiked up the local premiums to record high levels during the year. The official gold price in Vietnam often remained higher than global gold price. On certain occasions, the gap even doubled.
The country’s gold consumption has exceeded 50 metric tons during the past several years. The fact that the country’s central bank did not produce or procure more gold during 2014 suggests chances of gold being smuggled into the country during the year.
The WGC report also states that the global gold demand totaled 3,923.7 tons in 2014. Worldwide jewelry demand fell 10% to 2,152.9 tons. Investment demand rose 2%, whereas central bank purchases totaled 477.2 tons very much close 50-year highs. The record mine gold supply was offset by sharp decline in volumes of recycled gold supply.
