In its quarterly bulletin released recently, the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) said that the demand for platinum jewellery worldwide during the first three months of 2020 (Q1) was down 26% year-on-year. This is due to consumers in most countries cutting back on non-essential spending for fears related to the global economic slowdown.
The report, which is independently prepared by Consultancy Metals Focus, noted that the total jewellery demand for the period was 401 Koz against the 540 Koz of platinum jewellery bought in Q1 2019, a decrease of 139 Koz.
Platinum jewellery demand in India fell by 30% as per the report, due to a cautious approach adopted by consumers towards high-value purchases due to the slowdown in the economy. Later, as the lockdowns took effect in March, demand suffered even more notably with platinum jewellery demand reducing by 60-80% during March.
China was the worst hit as the platinum jewellery fabrication demand in Q1 dropped by 45% year-on-year due to competition from the gold jewellery market.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
