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Business: The rising prices of gold are also affecting its demand in the country. The World Gold Council said on Thursday that India’s gold demand has declined by 16 percent on a volume basis in the July-September quarter of 2025. According to the council, record prices have reduced demand among consumers. However, its buying has increased from investment point of view in the hope of higher returns. According to the industry body, the total demand for gold in the third quarter declined to 209.4 tonnes from 248.3 tonnes a year ago. However, if the demand is calculated on the basis of value during the same period, an increase of 23 percent was recorded. The value of gold demand increased from Rs 1,65,380 crore to Rs 2,03,240 crore.
Demand for gold jewelery, a major component of consumption in the world’s second-largest bullion market, declined 31 per cent to 117.7 tonnes from 171.6 tonnes. However, the value of jewelery purchases remained stable at around Rs 1,14,270 crore. This shows that despite the rising prices of gold, customers are trying to keep pace with the prices.
WGC said that there was significant strength in demand in terms of investment. It increased by 20 percent in terms of quantity to 91.6 tonnes. In terms of value, it showed an increase of 74 percent and it increased from Rs 51,080 crore to Rs 88,970 crore. “This reflects the growing strategic commitment to gold as a long-term store of value among Indian consumers,” said Sachin Jain, regional CEO for India, World Gold Council.
During the last quarter, the average price of gold in India increased to Rs 97,074.9 per 10 grams. This is 46 percent more than Rs 66,614.1 in the same quarter a year ago. This does not include import duty and GST. International prices averaged $3,456.5 an ounce, compared to $2,474.3 an ounce in the same period a year ago. Despite the decline in volumes, Jain expects purchases to remain positive during important festival and wedding seasons. For this, strong sales of October during Dhanteras-Diwali were cited.
“The volume has declined by 16 per cent, but there has been a historic increase in value by 23 per cent. We cannot ignore this,” Jain said, adding that many consumers have already done their wedding shopping as prices have risen in recent months. Gold imports declined 37 per cent to 194.6 tonnes from 308.2 tonnes, while its recycling declined 7 per cent to 21.8 tonnes. Jain said import figures had increased last year after the historic duty cut announced in the July 2024 budget. The council expects demand for the full year to be 600-700 tonnes, at the high end of this range, compared to 462.4 tonnes in the first nine months.
