Turkish consumers’ demand for gold plunges in third quarter

ISTANBUL

Turkish consumers’ demand for gold declined by 45 percent in the third quarter of 2024 from a year ago to 22.1 tons, according to a report by the World Gold Council.

Demand was down 43.4 percent compared with the second quarter of this year. The demand for gold in the third quarter was the lowest since the second quarter of 2022.

Local demand for jewelry was 9.4 tons, translating into a 27 percent decline from the third quarter of last year. But jewelry demand rose 14 percent from the previous year.

“Gold jewelry consumption in Türkiye saw its second consecutive year-on-year decline, driven by the higher local gold price. Nevertheless, Q3 demand remained strong in absolute terms – slightly above its 10-year quarterly average,” said the council.

Total demand for bars and coins nosedived 55 percent annually to 12.7 tons, while the quarterly decline in demand was 59 percent.

Global gold demand gained 5 percent year-on-year to 1,313 tons, a record for a third quarter, said the council.

“This strength was reflected in the gold price, which reached a series of new record highs during the quarter. The value of demand jumped 35 percent annually to exceed $100 billion for the first time ever,” it added.

Gold jewelry consumption at 459 tons sank 12 percent year-on-year.

Although consumers bought reduced quantities, their spending on gold jewelry increased with the value of demand jumping 13 percent annually to more than $36 billion.