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India's gold need to hit four-year low in the middle of cost rally, World Gold Council states

India's gold demand in 2024 is most likely to fall to its most affordable in 4 years as a rally in rates to a record high is seen denting purchases during the peak festival season in the December quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) stated on Wednesday.

Gold demand worldwide's second-biggest consumer of the precious metal could stand between 700 and 750 metric tons in 2024, the lowest considering that 2020 and down from last year's 761 tons, Sachin Jain, CEO of WGC's Indian operations, told Reuters.

Need for the precious metal normally surges towards completion of the year in India, as buying gold for wedding events and major celebrations such as Diwali and Dussehra is thought about auspicious.

But this year, many buyers advanced purchases to August after regional rates fell sharply following New Delhi's reduction to the import responsibility by 9 portion points in July, Jain stated.

Buyers are now waiting on prices to settle ... In volume terms demand would be lower this year during the festival season, he stated.

Domestic rates of gold hit a record high of 79,700 rupees ($ 947) per 10 grams on Wednesday. They have risen 26% in 2024 after rising more than 10% in 2023.

Indian gold usage in the July-September quarter rose 18% to 248.3 loads, as investment need leapt 41% and jewellery need increased 10% in the quarter, the WGC said.

India's physically backed gold exchange-traded funds ( ETFs) have actually registered a 6th consecutive month of inflows in September and their holdings rose to 52.6 tons, up from 43.3 tons in January, WGC data revealed.

With a great deal of liquidation happening in the stock market certainly there will be some inflow in this quarter from stock markets also, Jain stated.

India's NSE Nifty 50 share index has dropped about 7% from a record high hit on Sept. 27.

(source: Reuters)