China and India are by far the largest consumers of gold in the world. Asian jewelry demand is price sensitive, which means demand typically increases on price weakness. Gold demand in India and China is showing signs of recovery after having been decimated in 2020.

The World Gold Council and Reuters report that Indian gold imports were up 45% and 72% in December and January, respectively. Metals Focus shows Chinese jewelry sales returning to normal in yuan terms in the fourth quarter of 2020, while tonnages appear to be trending towards normal in the first quarter of 2021. This improving Asian demand should provide support for gold.

MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index

03/31/2020-03/31/2021

Source: MV Index Solutions GmbH.  All values are rebased to 1,000. Data as of 31 March 2021.


About the Author:

Joe Foster has been Portfolio Manager for the VanEck International Investors Gold Fund since 1998 and the VanEck – Global Gold UCITS Fund since 2012. Mr. Foster, an acknowledged authority on gold, has over 10 years of dedicated experience in geology and mining including as a gold geologist in Nevada. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron's, and on Reuters, CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Foster has also published articles in a number of mining journals, including Mining Engineering and Geological Society of Nevada.

The article above is an opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of MV Index Solutions or its affiliates.