Total gold demand, including over-the-counter investment, rose 1% year-on-year in Q4 2024, hitting a new quarterly high and contributing to a record annual total of 4,974 tonnes. Increases in both mining and refining contributed to the increase in total gold supply.
Central banks continued to buy the precious metal, with purchases exceeding 1,000 tonnes for the third year in a row, and accelerating sharply in Q4 to 333 tonnes.
Full-year investment reached a four-year high of 1,180 tonnes (+25%). Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had a significant impact, with 2024 being the first year since 2020 that stocks were virtually unchanged, in contrast to the strong outflows of the previous three years.
Full-year bar and coin demand was in line with 2023 at 1,186 tonnes, with the mix changing as bar investment rose and coin purchases fell.
Full-year technology demand rose 21 tonnes (+7%) in 2024, driven largely by continued growth in artificial intelligence adoption.
The exception to this was gold jewellery, which fell 11% to 1,877 tonnes. Spending on gold jewellery, meanwhile, jumped 9% to $144 billion.
The LBMA PM gold price reached 40 new all-time highs during 2024, with the fourth-quarter average of $2,663 per ounce also setting a record and delivering a full-year average of $2,386 per ounce (+23%).
In value terms, demand has reached unprecedented levels. The combination of record gold prices and volumes gave a Q4 value of $111 billion. The highest annual value was $382 billion.
According to forecasts for 2025, central banks and ETF investors are likely to drive demand as economic uncertainty supports gold’s role as a hedge but puts pressure on jewellery.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
