At the end of the year, the drop in demand was 14% to 3.759.6 tons. The main deterrent to the sharp drop in demand was the coronavirus epidemic around the world. Precious metal purchases by central banks also slowed down, especially in the second half of the year. During 2020, Central Banks bought 272.9 tonnes of gold for their reserves.
According to the results of the year, the demand for jewelry decreased by 34% to 1.411.6 tons, and in the 4th quarter this figure was 515.9 tons - a 13% decrease in annual terms. The main reason for this result was the weak demand for jewelry in India and China. In past years, these two countries were the main consumers of jewelry.
As for investment demand, in 2020 it grew to a record high of 1.773.2 tons - an increase of 40%. Gold reserves of ETF funds increased by 877.1 tons last year and reached a record high of 3.751.5 tons by the end of the year.At the same time, the demand for investment bars and coins amounted to 896.1 tons - an increase of 3% in annual terms ...
Central banks bought 273 tonnes for their reserves in 2020. It was the 11th consecutive year that central banks have bought the yellow precious metal. In the 4th quarter, they bought 45 tons. At the same time, demand for gold from the technology sector decreased by 7% to 301.9 tons. The demand was influenced by Covid-19, especially in the first half of the year.
The supply of gold on the world market in 2020 decreased by 4% to 4.633 tons - this is the first annual decline since 2017. The extraction of the yellow precious metal at the deposits decreased by 4% to 3,401 tons. Again, this was due to quarantine restrictions due to the coronavirus.