Indian gold demand rose 24% quarter on quarter to 162 tonnes in the third quarter
Key Facts
A revival in Indian gold purchases on November 6, or a fall in prices to a seven-month low, could not be verified. The latest available data, released by the World Gold Council on November 3, show Indian demand rose 24% quarter on quarter to 162 tonnes in the third quarter of 2026. But it remained 29% below its level a year earlier, indicating that the improvement from the second quarter did not reverse the annual decline. The council said demand "improved compared with the second quarter, but high prices constrained volumes." The figures put the Diwali season in the context of a market that entered the final quarter with weaker buying volumes than a year earlier.
Jewellery led the quarterly recovery, with demand rising 33% to around 100 tonnes in the third quarter. The World Gold Council linked the improvement to seasonal buying and lower prices late in the quarter, but volumes remained 20% lower year on year. The council said "jewellery led the sequential recovery," while demand remained below its year-earlier level. The comparison shows that the price decline during part of the quarter helped improve purchases from the previous quarter, without erasing the impact of high prices on the annual comparison. India was the world's largest jewellery market, accounting for 32% of global consumption in the third quarter.
On the investment side, demand for gold bars and coins rose 9% from the second quarter to 55 tonnes. However, this volume remained 40% below its level a year earlier, reflecting a divergence between quarterly improvement and a weak annual comparison across Indian buying channels. The council described bars and coins as "the largest investment channels," with quarterly growth and an annual decline. The improvement from the previous quarter thus covered both jewellery and investment products, but was not enough to offset the annual fall in either category. This context remains relevant when assessing any subsequent indicators of seasonal buying, since short-term growth alone does not establish a sustained turnaround in demand.
Spending value reveals another effect of prices: the value of Indian demand rose 3% year on year in the third quarter to 2,419 billion rupees, or 25 billion dollars, as volumes fell 29%. In the first nine months of 2026, demand by volume fell 12% to 444 tonnes, while its value rose 38% to 6,688 billion rupees, equivalent to 71 billion dollars. The council said "the same pattern was seen during the first nine months," as volumes declined and value increased. This divergence is consistent with the average prices recorded during the quarter: the domestic price was 148,891 rupees per 10 grams, down 1% quarter on quarter but up 45% year on year. The average international price was 4,262 dollars per ounce, down 5% quarter on quarter and up 23% year on year.
Survey data cited by the council, in collaboration with Kantar, showed an improvement in jewellery-buying intentions. The share of consumers who said they intended to increase their purchases over the following three months rose from 20% in the first survey wave to 29% in the second. By contrast, the share intending to reduce purchases fell from 51% to 40%. But adaptation to higher prices remained evident: 77% in the second wave said they would choose a lower purity or karat, compared with 72% in the first wave. The share considering exchanging old jewellery to finance new purchases also rose, from 70% to 76%.
In an update published by the council in October, listed jewellery companies recorded annual revenue growth ranging from 20% to 30% during the July-to-September period. The largest operators added 42 stores during the quarter, while sales growth at existing stores was around 20%. These indicators provide a picture of company and store performance during a period when demand value increased, but they do not change the council's data on the volume of gold purchases in the third quarter. For the fourth quarter, the council expects the festive and wedding season to provide seasonal support for demand. It said persistently high prices and weakness in the rural economy following a poor monsoon could limit volumes, while it expects investment demand to remain positive and sensitive to the price trajectory.