China May Match India as World's Biggest Gold Consumer on Investor Demand

China and India are becoming a growing force in the physical gold market.

Chinese consumption of gold may climb to rival that of India, the top user, as investors buy the metal as a store of value, said GFMS Ltd. and INTL FCStone.

Demand in China, the world’s second-biggest economy, almost tripled to 580 metric tons last year from 206 tons in 2001, data from the producer-funded World Gold Council show. Use in India may slump 5 percent to 26 percent this year from 963 tons in 2010, Morgan Stanley said in a report yesterday.

Bullion soared to a record $1,444.95 an ounce on March 7 and rallied 30 percent last year for a 10th annual gain as investors sought to preserve their wealth against inflation, Middle East unrest and currency debasement. Consumer prices in China climbed 4.9 percent in February from a year ago, exceeding the government’s 4 percent goal for the full year.

Source: bloomberg.com