World Gold Council: India's gold demand falls 6 per cent in June quarter on weak seasonal demand, higher duty

Indias gold demand fell 6 per cent yearonyear to 1314 tonnes in the AprilJune quarter weighed down by seasonally subdued sales higher Customs duty and Prime Minister Narendra Modis appeal to reduce purchases of the precious metal the World Gold Council said in a reportThe total demand was at 1397 tonnes during the corresponding period last year according to WGCs Q2 2026 Gold Demand Trends reportHowever its been a record in terms of the value of demand So consumption was Rs 198100 crores compared with Rs 132500 crores in the same period in 2025 which is up by 50 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2025 highlighting that consumers continue to prioritise gold even in a highprice environment WGC Regional CEO India Sachin Jain told PTIGoing forward for the year WGC estimated the demand to stay between 650 and 750 tonnesWe still see demand in the range of 650 to 750 tonnes for this year However given the current geopolitical landscape interest rates and inflation I think we should be somewhere in the middle of this range If there is more correction in gold prices and the customs duty is reduced then we could get to the upper end of this range Jain addedTotal Jewellery demand in India during the quarter under review decreased by 15 per cent to 751 tonnes as compared to 888 tonnes in the same period last yearSubdued season the clarion call of the Prime Minister to buy less gold and hike in Customs Duty among others impacted the demand he addedPrime Minister Modi in May this year urged people to reduce nonessential gold purchases and explore other ways to save foreign exchange reserves amid mounting import bills of the country due to volatile crude oil pricesJain expressed concern about a rise in grey marketing after the duty hike noting reports of illicit gold already making its way into these marketsWe think smuggling and illicit gold making way into the market is the biggest risk to the industry and we are already getting reports on this We will be tracking this in the coming quarters he addedMeanwhile investment demand remained encouraging with bar and coin demand growing 9 per cent yearonyear to 503 tonnes while Indian Gold ETFs attracted 42 tonnes of net inflows despite global outflowsThese trends reinforce golds growing appeal not only as a traditional store of wealth but also as a strategic investment that provides stability and diversification in an increasingly uncertain economic environment Looking ahead the festive and wedding season in the second half is expected to support demand While elevated prices may continue to influence buying patterns Indian consumers have consistently demonstrated their ability to adapt Jain saidMeanwhile the WGC data showed that total gold recycled in India in the AprilJune quarter declined by 17 per cent to 192 tonnes compared to 231 tonnes in the same period last yearTotal gold imports in India in the second quarter of 2026 were 981 tonnes down by 23 per cent compared to 1274 tonnes recorded in the corresponding period of 2025The average gold price in the second quarter was USD 45063 an ounce in comparison to USD 32804 in the corresponding period of 2025In India the average quarterly price of gold during AprilJune was Rs 1507448 without import duty and GST in comparison to Rs 948759 in the same period last yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever