Global demand for gold increased by 10% in the second quarter of 2025 due to continued strong investment demand, amid increased purchases of coins and bullion, as well as inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by gold, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports.
At the same time, demand for jewelry has shown negative dynamics due to high global gold prices, Technological demand has also turned to decline, as have central banks, but they still remain net buyers.
Demand for jewelry dropped in April-June 2025, as record gold prices reduce their availability to consumers. Quarterly demand was 30% lower than the quarterly average over the past five years — 487 tons.
"Of the 31 regions where we investigated the demand for jewelry, Iran turned out to be unique, showing growth compared to the second quarter a year earlier. All the others have a decrease," the WGC noted.
The recent price spike has further widened the gap between consumption and cost, especially in price-sensitive markets such as India and China. But in monetary terms, all markets have increased demand.
In China, demand fell by 20% year-on-year. It was the fifth consecutive double-digit quarterly drop in demand. A similar pattern was last observed in the first quarter of 2020, during the Covid period. At the same time, household spending on gold jewelry increased by 13% to $7 billion.
As a result, Chinese low demand in the second quarter brought the half-year figure to 194 tons, which is 28% lower than in the first half of 2024.
"If you don't take into account 2020, it was the weakest first half of the year since 2009," WGC experts say. "Gold prices and consumer sentiment will remain key drivers of jewelry demand in China in the second half of the year."
In India, demand in the second quarter decreased by 17% compared to a year earlier. As a result, in the first half of the year it amounted to 160 tons, becoming the lowest in the history of observations since the beginning of 2000, with the exception of 2020 — 118 tons during Covid. In monetary terms, demand increased by 17% by the second quarter of 2024 and by 43% by the second quarter of this year.
"The pressure of high prices on consumer sentiment will affect in the third quarter, despite the seasonal recovery in demand during festivals and weddings in the third quarter," the analysts concluded.
In the United States, jewelry consumption has remained in a negative trend over the past three years and decreased by 7% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter. In monetary terms, this is a 30% increase to $3 billion. Falling prices for artificial diamonds offset the rise in gold, making jewelry with such stones available.
In Europe, jewelry demand has lost the most
