Gold demand fell by 163.9 tonnes or 4.0% in 2014, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) annual report on gold demand trends

Gold demand fell by 163.9 tonnes or 4.0% in 2014, according to the World Gold Council (WGC) annual report on gold demand trends. At the same time, an estimated 3,114 tonnes of newly mined gold became available. Unless gold is being casually discarded by some current owners, more above ground gold must have been owned at the end of 2014 than at the end of 2013. As long as gold is being mined, demand must be rising since all the gold ever produced remains available for purchase. With accumulated global gold supplies approximating 177,200 tonnes at the end of 2013, the quantity of gold held by all classes of buyers grew by 1.76% in 2014. That seems a more logical way to view the gold market. The WGC seems to have been misled into thinking that it should dress up the numbers as though gold was the same as iron ore or copper which are transformed as they fulfil their primary purpose whereas the investment attributes of gold require a different approach.