Gold price slips as jewellery demand stays under pressure

Gold eased to $4,117.18 an ounce on June 23, down 1.78% in 24 hours and nearly 9% over the past month, with trading that day ranging from $4,092.16 to $4,216.38. Jewellery buyers face expensive chains, bangles and bridal sets to remake, restock and custom-order.

World Gold Council data for the first quarter of 2026 put total gold demand at 1,231 tonnes, while the value of that demand reached a record US$193 billion. Jewellery volumes fell 19% from a year earlier even as spending rose 47%. A near-9% monthly drop can be felt first in a new fabrication quote, a heavier chain or a multi-piece bridal order, while a finished item already sitting in a display case changes more slowly.

Lower spot prices can feed through first to fresh inventory purchases and to made-to-order pieces that depend on current metal costs, while existing stock often moves more slowly because it was bought or priced when gold was higher.

World Gold Council data put total gold demand, including over-the-counter buying, at more than 5,000 tonnes last year, and the market set 53 all-time highs. The World Gold Council’s 2026 outlook expects jewellery weakness to persist, even as geopolitics and official-sector buying continue to support bullion. The June 16 central bank survey found 89% of reserve managers expect global central bank gold holdings to keep rising over the next 12 months, 45% expect their own reserves to increase, and 83% see gold taking a larger share of total reserves within five years. The survey found central banks have accumulated an average of 1,000 tonnes over the past four years, about double the 500-tonne average of the previous decade.