Friday, March 28, 2008

India’s love affair with gold tarnishing

Our earlier posts on the phenomena are below, here's the Financial Times story:

As India’s voracious appetite for gold wanes, producers of the precious metal are taking heed.
Indian consumers buy about 25 per cent of the world’s gold, the vast majority of which is

imported, making the country the largest market for the metal.

Globally, investors have poured into gold, seeking refuge from the deflating dollar, which has hit record lows against the euro. Fears of an economic slowdown in the US, sky-high oil prices, and fallout from the subprime crisis have driven demand for gold as a safe haven.
But with the recent volatility in gold prices, which have hit more than $1,000 per troy ounce, investors have become nervous and sales of gold in India have fallen sharply. Demand for gold in India plummeted 64 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter after growing 40 per cent in the first three quarters of last year
....MORE

HT: Naked Capitalism

In January we had: Gold loses its shine as high price hits Indian demand which referenced a post from last year that told the story of my first exposure to the "Indian Ladies" indicator:
EU Emission Caps, Kyoto and Three Ancient Civilizations

As a side note, in December 1979, as silver was making its historic run, an old Jewish trader told me he was lightening up on Ag.
When I asked why he said "I hear the Indian ladies are taking their bracelets off and they've been trading it longer than I have".