Bloomberg (18/10) -- Gold demand across Asia will keep expanding as
inflation (INFUTOTY) spurs investment purchases, said HSBC Holdings Plc,
estimating that the region’s share of worldwide consumption jumped in
the past decade.Demand for jewelry, bars and coins in India,
Greater China, Indonesia and Vietnam increased to about 60 percent of
the global total compared with 35 percent in 2004, economists including
Frederic Neumann wrote in a note today, citing data from the World Gold
Council. Bullion is mostly used in the region as a store of value,
Neumann wrote.While gold is heading for its first annual loss since
2000 as the U.S. recovers and the Federal Reserve weighs tapering
stimulus, the slump spurred increased demand among coin and jewelry
buyers across Asia. Since 2008, demand for gold in India more than
doubled, while consumption in China rose almost 350 percent, Neumann
said. The two countries are the largest buyers.“With inflation
still elevated in many markets and interest rates not offering adequate
compensation, expect Asia’s voracious appetite for gold to persist,”
Neumann wrote. “Asia is going for gold. Over recent years, demand has
soared.”Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,318.99 an ounce
at 10:22 a.m. in Singapore, down 31 percent from the record in 2011.
Prices, which have lost 21 percent this year, will drop in each of the
next four quarters and reach a four-year low as reduced stimulus in
response to faster growth curbs haven demand, the 10 most-accurate
forecasters tracked by Bloomberg said.
