The World Gold Council (WGC), the market development organisation for the gold industry, expects the demand for gold to be around 800 tonnes for the year in India. This is a decline of over 14 per cent compared with the offtake of around 933 tonnes seen during 2011. However, while the demand for the yellow metal was low during the first half of the year, the council expects the market to pick up momentum during the festival, wedding seasons, this year.
Speaking to the reporters after the launch of WGC’s wedding jewellery brand Azva here, Vipin Sharma, director, jewellery, WGC, said, “The first six months saw the demand coming down. But, at present the trend is positive with the demand picking up. We expect an overall offtake of gold in India to grow to around 800 tonnes this year, with the momentum being seen this wedding season.”