China And US demand for gold steady in first quarter

London (May 3)  Demand for gold in the jewelry sector held steady at 487.7 tons in the first quarter, as growth in China and the US compensated for weaker Indian demand, the World Council says in a report today.

Central banks bought 116.5 tons of gold, up by 42 percent on year.

Demand from the technology sector continued to rise, growing by 4 percent on year to 82.1 tons.

The total supply of gold increased by 3 percent to 1,063.5 tons, mainly due to a modest increase in producer hedging. Mine production was fractionally higher at 770 tons the industry group says.

The Standard