WGC: We Rely on Government Data in Our Reports on Egypt's Gold Market

Head of Middle East and Public Policy World Gold Council (WGC) Andrew Naylor, explained how the Council collects data on the volume of demand in the Egyptian gold market.

"We rely on various sources, including government data such as export data, taxes collected from the gold sector, retail sales volume, and production volume of artifacts, bullion, and recycling. This data is then subjected to scientific methods and methodology before being included in the Council's quarterly reports," Naylor said during the first conference of the Gold Council, organized by Evolve Investment Holding.

Also, he mentioned that the volume of manufacturing demand is greater than the volume of consumer demand from individuals.

Naylor further pointed out that the Council's reports on supply and demand trends for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 seem to be relatively inconsistent with reality due to the size of the local stock of manufacturers and merchants. The report showed an increase in sales of bullion artifacts, which was not expected.

In March 2022, there was an increase in demand among citizens to buy bullion and pounds for the purpose of hedging against the decline of the currency. This resulted in an unprecedented increase in bullion sales, crowded stores, and longer delivery periods between one and two weeks. As a result, the market's production of bullion artifacts declined.

Sameh El Torgoman, CEO of Evolve Investment Holding, noted that the local gold market is an unregulated market, making it difficult to obtain accurate data. He suggested that financial instruments like investment funds can help regulate the gold market and access accurate information about the volume of transactions within the market.

Contributed by Ahmed Emam