U.S. gold jewelry demand during the second quarter of the year dropped 5% from 2023, as consumers were scared away by high prices and demand continued to normalize post-pandemic, according to the World Gold Council’s (WGC) most recent Gold Demand Trends report.
The WGC noted the April–June 2024 period was the ninth consecutive quarter that U.S. gold jewelry demand had fallen, but said this was part of a “normalization” trend.
“Demand was bumped up notably in 2021–22 as consumers under lockdown restrictions and federal income support directed some of their excess savings to gold jewelry,” the WGC said in the report. “As those excess savings dwindled and spending on travel and entertainment resumed, gold jewelry demand began to taper.”
Still, 33 metric tons of gold were used for U.S. jewelry in 2024’s second quarter—up from a quarterly average of 27 metric tons in the five years prior to COVID.
Rising gold prices in second-quarter 2024 hurt gold jewelry demand all over the globe, according to the report.
“Jewelry’s weakness…did not come as a surprise,” it said. “Prices were eventually going to bite.”
The WGC found that “Chinese jewelry demand was, in some cases, reportedly worse than during COVID, and domestic consumer confidence at an all-time low in June didn’t help. Indian jewelry fared marginally better, although prices were largely prohibitive.”
(Photo: Getty Images)
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