World Gold Demand Hits Record High In 2012

Gold demand hits record value level.
$236 billion, and change.
Report was released yesterday.  Director Marcus Grubb discusses the findings for Q4 and fulll year 2012.  In value terms, global gold demand in 2012 was $236.4 billionn -- an all-time high.  Gold demand in value terms for the final quarter of the year was 6% higher year-on-year at $66.2 billion, marking the highest ever Q4 total.
Read the full press release from the World Gold Council...
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Marketwatch
Worldwide gold demand in 2012 hit an all-time high of $236.4 billion.  This was up 6% in value terms in the fourth quarter to $66.2 billion, the highest fourth quarter on record.
India’s 2012 demand was down 12% from 2011, but was up 41% in the fourth quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.  Chinese demand was flat year on year, but rose 1% for the fourth quarter, versus the same time a year ago, possibly reflecting the fact that the economic slowdown in China was shorter than expected.
Meanwhile, central bank buying for 2012 climbed 17% compared to 2011, to total 534.6 metric tons, the highest level since 1964.
Investment demand (the sum of ETFs and total bar and coin demand) was 424 tonnes, down 8% compared to the same quarter last year, but was 19% above the five-year average.
Demand for ETFs and similar products in the fourth quarter was down by 16% on the corresponding quarter in 2011 to 88 tonnes, but was up by 51% on the full year.
As of Wednesday’s close, gold for April delivery traded at $1,645.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest settlement price for a most-active contract since late August.