India's Gold Demand Falls 6% Amid Seasonal Weakness

India's gold demand fell by 6% year-over-year to 131.4 tonnes in the April-June quarter, weighed down by seasonal factors, higher Customs duty, and a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for people to reduce non-essential gold purchases.

The World Gold Council attributed the decline to 'subdued season' and the hike in Customs Duty, which impacted total jewellery demand, decreasing it by 15% to 75.1 tonnes compared to 88.8 tonnes in the same period last year.

Despite this decline, investment demand remained encouraging, with bar and coin demand growing 9% year-over-year to 50.3 tonnes, while Indian Gold ETFs attracted 4.2 tonnes of net inflows despite global outflows.