Gold and jewelry worldwide demand has dropped 14% at 915 tons, according to Q2 2015 results from the World Gold Council Demand Trends Report. Specifically gold experienced a total loss of 12% globally when compared to Q2 2014 last year. The World Gold Council attributes this fall in demand to a decline in consumer sales from India and China. On the other hand, there was some uptick when it came to bullion and coins in the US and Europe.

“It’s been a challenging market for gold this quarter, particularly in Asia, on the back of falls in India and China,” Alistair Hewitt, Head of Market Intelligence at the World Gold Council, said. “The reverse is true for western jewelry markets, as increased economic confidence led to continued growth in consumer demand.”

Despite some declines, demand in Europe and the U.S. grew, driven by a mixture of confident jewelry buyers and demand for bars and coins. In addition, central banks were strong buyers of jewelry with Russia and Kazakhstan in the lead.

The World Council attributed the jewelry demand slowing in China due to economic reasons – citing the country has seen some hard times affecting people’s buying power. In India, inclement weather that affected income in Q1 and Q2 was partially responsible for the decline in gold demand.

Another factor affecting jewelry and gold demand was investment numbers. The Trend Report stated that global investment in gold was down 11% to 179t from 200t in Q2 2014. The drop is partially due to the dearth of buyers during wedding season worldwide.

Below is a summary of jewelry from the World Gold Council Trends Report:

• Overall jewelry demand was at 915 tons – a drop of 12-percent
• China experienced a drop in jewelry demand partially due to economic hardships
• The drop in jewelry demand in India is partially due to inclement weather affecting rual incomes
• The demand for jewelry in the U.S. rose for the sixth year in a row to 2%
• Investment demand is down 11% to 179t from 200t in Q2 2014
• Both the Eurozone and Central Banks showed an increase in jewelry and gold demand

On a positive note, numbers from the Eurozone depicted growth in investment demand due to increased consumer confidence.

Some experts believe Gold will experience a turnaround in the second half of the year because of a flight to safety among investors based on macroeconomic conditions worldwide. According to Anthony Allen Anderson, Director of Sales Operations with Culver City-based Gold Silver Group, “with increased volatility in global markets, continued uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s proposed actions to raise interest rates, a deflating stock market bubble in China, austerity in Greece and a bottoming of oil prices worldwide, we expect additional investor capital flight to Gold in the remaining months of 2015.”

Learn more about gold and consumer demand by visiting the KHTS 2016 Santa Clarita Home and Garden Show.

Anderson is an associate member of the ICTA, a life member with the American Numismatic Association (ANA), and certified as a dealer with PCGS, CCE, Fiztrade and NGC and a leading expert on coin and precious metal investing, advising clients how to maximize value during volatile times.