February 4: The overall demand for gold globally, inclusive of over-the-counter and stock flows, amounted to 4,899 tonnes last year, hitting a record high, said an industry report.    

The demand of central banks reached 1,037 tonnes in 2023, the second highest in history, according to the report released by the World Gold Council. Global gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw an annual outflow for the third consecutive year, losing 244 tonnes in 2023, said the report.    

By contrast, the Chinese market saw an inflow of 10 tonnes of gold ETFs last year, which brought its total holdings of gold ETFs to 61.5 tonnes by the end of 2023. Global demand for gold bars and coins decreased 3 percent year on year, while jewelry consumption demand increased to 2,093 tonnes.    

China's economic recovery has driven up the demand for gold jewelry, and the country has become an important growth engine for the global gold jewelry market, said the report.    

Last year, total global gold supply increased by 3 percent year on year. Gold mine production in 2023 increased by 1 percent year on year to 3,644 tonnes, the report said.

In the context of Nepal, the country imported gold worth Rs 22.35 billion in the fiscal year 2022/2023. According to the statistics of the Department of Customs, Nepal imported 29,16,586 grams of the precious yellow metal in the review year.

The gold import in the last fiscal year marks a 42 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year (2021/2022) when Nepal imported gold worth Rs 35 billion. -- (With inputs from Xinhua/RSS)