Investors bought more gold than buyers of jewellery for the first time in three decades in 2009, highlighting increasing impact of speculators on bullion prices. GFMS, the consultancy which compiles benchmark supply and demand data on the metal, yesterday said that investment demand more than doubled to 1,820 tonnes last year, while jewellery purchases fell 23 per cent to 1,687 tonnes, a 21-year low.
The data provides the clearest indication of the huge role investors played in driving gold to a record high of $1,226.10 a troy ounce in December.
Philip Klapwijk, executive chairman of GFMS, told the Financial Times he sensed that a “large amount of money” was poised to enter the gold market this year.