IGPC Report: Middle-income group purchase more gold and in the physical form

The Gold and Gold Markets 2022 report by India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) says that people in the higher income group are interested in having the yellow metal in digital or paper format. Per capita consumption of gold is the highest among the rich, but the total volume still rests with the middle-income group.
According to the report, the majority of the consumption is concentrated among households in the annual income range of $0.2 mn - $1 mn, consuming an average of 56 per cent of the volume. For a class having an annual income above $1 mn, which is upper-middle and rich, savings are gains over their extra earnings, idle additional money and capital gain.
The household gold consumption report was prepared through a survey conducted by IGPC in association with People Research on India's Consumer Economy (PRICE). The survey was carried out among 40,000 households.
The report further revealed that gold consumption wasn't affected by demonetisation or the implementation of GST (Goods and Services Tax).
In the last five years, at least 74 per cent of the high-income households confirmed buying gold.
The report also found that gold symbolises celebration, and weddings and festivals contribute to 65-70 per cent of the reasons for jewellery purchase while 30-35 per cent is discretionary spending. About 43 per cent of Indian households buy gold for weddings and 31 per cent purchase it for no specific occasions. Gold has now surfaced as a safe haven due to the diversification benefits it gives to equity portfolios.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished