But the underling balance of demand and supply, viewed over the longer run, strikes me as a good deal more healthy than in sometimes suggested. Jewellery fabrication remains the major source of demand, and here prospects seem to me to be generally encouraging.
As the global economy extends its recovery, and as emerging market economies make further progress in raising living standards for their large populations, higher continuing levels of consumer spending should bring increased demand for high-value artefacts, as indeed luxury good retailers around the world are already noticing. There should be increasing opportunities here for the gold industry to expand jewellery sales.