[miningmx.com] – GLOBAL demand for gold coins and bars fell 12% in the second quarter to 238 tonnes, 63% off the high of 636 tonnes in the second quarter of 2013, said BDLive citing the quarterly GFMS Gold Survey. The global market had a 196-tonne surplus versus last quarter’s 46-tonne deficit, it said.
China, which has overtaken India as the world’s largest gold consumer, used up 394 tonnes in the first half of this year compared with India’s 392 tonnes. That excludes China’s expanded gold reserves, which it said in June would go up by 604 tonnes to 1,658 tonnes. The gold price averaged $1,192/oz in the June quarter, marking at least eight consecutive quarters of falls since the second quarter of 2013 said BDLive.
“There has been a sell-off as investor sentiment has remained negative and substantial shorting of the market has taken place,” GFMS said, referring to investors in future sales contracts betting the gold price would move lower.
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