India's gold demand likely to fall to six-year low in 2026 on price rise

Jewellery demand fell in the first nine months of the year, which will drag down total demand to around 650 metric tons, the lowest since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced jewellery shops to close, Sachin Jain, chief executive of the WGC's Indian operations, told Reuters. Gold ‌demand fell 29% year-on-year to 162.5 metric tons in the September quarter, as jewellery purchases declined 20% and investment demand dropped 40%, Jain said.

Demand is likely to improve in the December quarter as key festivals such as Diwali and the wedding season drive purchases, he said. Indians celebrated Dussehra in October and will celebrate Diwali in ​early November, when buying gold is considered auspicious. But high prices and weakness in the ‌rural economy following a poor monsoon are likely to cap demand, the WGC said in a report published on Tuesday.

More ​than ‌half of India's gold demand comes from rural areas where jewellery is a ‌traditional store of wealth for millions. The monsoon delivered its lowest rainfall in more than a decade in 2026, curbing agricultural production ‌and ​reducing farmers' incomes. India's ​gold imports fell in the September quarter, partly due to a rise in unofficial inflows after the government raised import ‌duties on the ​precious metal earlier this year, Jain said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel First Published: Nov 03 2026 | 12:19 PM IST