Vietnam's Gold Market Trails Indonesia Despite Outperforming Thailand

Indonesia’s gold bar and coin sales reached 38.1 tonnes in the first half this year, higher than the combined figure of Thailand and Vietnam (36.5 tonnes), latest data shows. Its demand tripled the combined figure of Malaysia and Singapore (12.1 tonnes), according to the second quarter report by the World Gold Council. In the second quarter alone the biggest economy in Southeast Asia posted 14.5 tonnes in sales, highest in the region. Indonesia was also among the world’s strongest-performing gold markets globally in the second quarter, with gold bar and coin demand surging 40% year-on-year. "Indonesia remains one of the strongest-performing markets globally [...] Currency weakness and concerns about the domestic economic outlook continued to reinforce gold's role as a store of value," the World Gold Council said. The Indonesian government formalized its gold ambitions earlier this year with the launch of a bullion system roadmap, a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening the national bullion ecosystem, supporting downstream development in the gold sector, the council added. Indonesia’s gold jewelry demand, however, bucked the trend. The figure fell 10% year-on-year to 3 tonnes. It experienced a thirteenth consecutive year-on-year decline as consumers, dealing with challenging economic conditions, increasingly shifted towards lower-purity jewelry, the council said. A person poses with a kilogram of gold bar at PT Antam headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 28, 2016. Photo by Reuters Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, saw gold bar and coin sales reaching 36.7 tonnes in the second quarter, up 7.6% year-on-year. Global demand for bars and coins for the second quarter dropped 3% to 307.1 tonnes. Louise Street, a senior markets analyst at World Gold Council, noted that bullion investment is "likely to drive growth" in the second half. "However the demand mix could shift," she added. "Over-the-counter activity and demand from Asian investors are expected to play an increasingly prominent role, while Western gold exchange-traded fund interest may be more closely linked to real yields, U.S. monetary policy expectations and the dollar."