Gold demand in India up by 19% in April-June quarter: WGC

India's gold demand increased by 19.2 per cent to 76.1 tonne during the April-June quarter this year, largely due to low base effect, owing to the nationwide lockdown that hit economic activity last year, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.

The overall gold demand during the second quarter of 2020 calendar year stood at 63.8 tonnes, according to the WGC's "Gold Demand Trends Q2 2021" report.

In value terms, India's gold demand witnessed 23 per cent growth during April-June quarter at Rs 32,810 crore, compared to Rs 26,600 crore during the corresponding period of 2020.

However, demand plunged 46 per cent quarter-on quarter as the second wave of COVID-19 hit the nation.

"Demand in H1 totalled 157.6 tonnes, which was 46 per cent below H1 2019, and 39 per cent lower than the H1 average from 2015-2019," the WGC data stated.