Global gold jewelry market experiences a 12% decline

The global gold jewerly market registered a 12 percent YoY drop in 2Q15 due to weakening demand from Asia and the Middle East, according to the World Gold Council's quarterly report. Although the industry experienced growth in some Western markets, this was not enough to offset the decline.

In India, the second-largest market for gold jewelry, demand fell by 23 percent from the same period last year. The drop was partly attributed to extreme weather conditions that had adverse effects in the economic cycle in rural areas. The country's rural regions account for about half of its gold jewelry market.

Gold jewerly demand in China decreased 5 percent YoY because of the nation's unstable stock market. China is the world's largest market for gold jewerly.

Vietnam is the best-performing country in Asia in terms of demand, posting a 22 percent growth that is fuelled by lower prices.

In the UAE, which mostly relies on tourist spending, jewelry demand experienced a 22 percent decline due mainly to geo-political tensions.

North America is also among the industry's few bright spots. In the US, the market increased 2 percent from the same period in 2014. This was highlighted by an 11 percent YoY rise in gold jewerly imports for April and May.

Demand in Canada jumped by 5 percent while the market in Mexico posted a 7 percent growth.

View a comparison table of fine gold jewelry suppliers on GlobalSources.com