Gold rally cuts India’s consumption 11% in 2025, coin and bar demand rises: WGC

Kolkata: The relentless rally in gold led to an 11% fall in its consumption in India in 2025, according to figures released by the World Gold Council (WGC) on Thursday. Demand for gold coins and bars, however, rose 17%, as investors saw the yellow metal as a safe bet amid global uncertainties.

Indians bought 710.9 tonnes of gold, including 280.4 tonnes in coins and bars, last year, show the WGC data. High prices hurt jewellery demand, which fell 24% to 430.5 tonnes, with consumers shifting to lightweight and lower-karatage items.

The average price of gold last year was ₹1,01,572 per 10 gm, compared with ₹70,754 in 2024. It continued to rise this month as well. On Thursday, gold climbed 7% to ₹1,76,121 per 10 gm in the spot retail market.


If the rally continues, consumption in India in 2026 may come down to as low as 600 tonnes, said WGC regional chief executive-India Sachin Jain. If the price stabilises at a level, demand may go up to 700 tonnes, he predicted.

Globally, annual gold demand crossed the 5,000-tonne mark for the first time, rising 1% to 5,002 tonnes last year. Heightened investment activity drove overall demand growth, though jewellery sales fell, the WGC said. It predicted continued geopolitical tensions to keep investment demand strong in 2026.

Despite the high prices, consumers in India did not part with their household gold last year - WGC's figures show total gold recycled fell 19% from 2024 to 92.7 tonnes. Jewellers, though, have reported consumers increasingly exchanging old gold for new, often lightweight, jewellery to meet their requirements in the ongoing wedding season.

As the demand for the yellow metal fell, India's gold imports in 2025 declined by 17% to 663.7 tonnes.

Demand for gold during the festive season, which was in the fourth quarter of calendar 2025, fell 9% to 241.3 tonnes. Of this, jewellery sales were 145.3 tonnes and investment demand was 96 tonnes.

While consumption by volume fell 11%, the high price drove sales value 30% higher to Rs 7,51,490 crore, Jain said.

"Looking ahead to 2026, we expect Indian gold demand to be approximately 600-700 tonnes...gold is well positioned to continue benefiting from persistent global uncertainties, a potentially softer interest rate environment, and sustained diversification efforts by global central banks," Jain said.

He predicted investment demand to remain robust, "driven by increasing awareness of gold's portfolio benefits and a growing appetite for exchange traded funds and digital gold as reliable hedges against volatility".

Precious metals rally; analysts advise caution on silver

Gold and silver prices climbed to new highs on Thursday. On the MCX, gold futures jumped by over Rs 14,850, or nearly 9%, to Rs 1,80,779 per 10 gm, while silver soared more than Rs 23,100, or 6%, to Rs 4,08,487 per kg.

In the spot market, silver rose close to 8% to Rs 3,85,933 per kg.