Demand for gold hit a record high in the third quarter as the the precious metal’s price hit all-time highs on geopolitical unrest, industry data showed Thursday.
AFP
Total demand grew three percent year-on-year in the July-September period to 1,313 tonnes, the World Gold Council said, as the metal perceived as a safe haven investment benefitted from the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
That was the highest level of demand by volume since the WGC began compiling such records around 25 years ago.
“Various regional conflicts, the increasing rhetoric around trade conflicts, all of that combines really to just create this atmosphere of heightened uncertainty” and boost demand for gold, WGC analyst Louise Street told AFP.
A surge in buying, driven by central banks, coincided with gold’s price striking record after record this year.
However since the metal struck an all-time peak in October of $4,381.52 an ounce, it has fallen heavily on profit taking.
Gold demand by value surged 44 percent year-on-year to a record $146 billion in the third quarter, the WGC added in its report.
The US government shutdown and expectations of more cuts to Federal Reserve interest rates, which is weighing on the dollar, have lent additional support to gold’s price in recent months according to analysts.
There has been strong demand for gold via Exchange-Traded Funds on stock markets. ETFs allow investment without trading on the gold futures market.
The high-price environment has, however, dampened jewellery demand, according to the WGC.
It dropped 23 percent to 419.2 tonnes in the July-September period, the lowest third quarter since 2020 when the Covid pandemic took hold around the world.
Street called gold’s recent retreat to around $4,000 an ounce “a healthy correction… that helps to wash out some of that more frothy, perhaps short-term speculative positioning”.
Sweden’s IKEA will more than double its investment in India to over 200 billion rupees ($2.20 billion) in the next five years as the furniture retailer plans to open more stores and increase sourcing locally, a top executive said on Monday.
IKEA logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 11, 2025 – REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
IKEA, which opened its first India store in 2018 in the southern city of Hyderabad, will begin accepting online orders in four other cities where it currently does not have a physical presence, including Chennai and Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu state.
“(India) is not a large IKEA country yet… But the belief in India is very strong that it will be one of our top markets,” said Patrik Antoni, CEO of IKEA India, in an interview with Reuters. The retailer’s India sales rose 6% to 18.61 billion rupees in the year ended August 2025, and Antoni said it plans to quadruple it, including by expanding store count to 30 from six.
The company plans to start online operations before opening a brick-and-mortar store in new cities- a first for IKEA globally- as young consumers shop online more to beat traffic, said Bhavana Jaiswal, country e-commerce integration manager. Its online sales account for over 30% of the total India sales. The retailer aims to raise the share to 40% of total sales.
IKEA will also double production for domestic stores and exports to 800 million euros ($930 million), said Antoni. The company’s move comes as global brands ramp up export production in India to cut costs, while consumer majors from shoemaker Asics to carmaker VinFast Auto also step up sourcing to meet domestic demand.
U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on imports from India to as much as 50% last year on some goods, forcing many industries to find new clients in other countries. Antoni, however, said it has not affected IKEA’s Indian suppliers much, as the brand, which has most of its stores in Europe, ships more to other markets.
Gaurav Gupta has opened its first flagship store dedicated to menswear. Located in New Delhi’s DLF Emporio, the boutique measures around 2,300 square feet and establishes Gaurav Gupta Man as a core pillar of the Gaurav Gupta brand.
Inside the first ever Gaurav Gupta Man store – Gaurav Gupta
The store inside the premium mall was designed by architect Karanbir Duggal in close collaboration with Gaurav Gupta, the brand announced in a press release. Its bold interior resembles a fluid maze, guiding the shopper through curved corridors, past slightly surrealist sculptures, through to rooms filled with the label’s occasion wear in a move to encourage exploration and discovery.
“This space reflects how I think about menswear today,” commented Gaurav Gupta about the intent behind the space. “It is fluid, sculptural, and introspective. The store becomes an extension of the Gaurav Gupta Man, where architecture and clothing exist in quiet conversation with one another.”
Gaurav Gupta mixes fashion and art in his new store – Gaurav Gupta
Gaurav Gupta first introduced his men’s offering in 2017 at fashion event GQ Fashion Nights and has dressed celebrities including Ranveer Singh. The new store caters to the label’s growing national and global menswear clientele with a selection of its signature tuxedos, bandhgalas, and ceremonial dress as well as new verticals including kurtas and Nehru jackets, shirts, accessories, bow ties, footwear, and finishing pieces.
“The concept of Shunya informed the way we shaped the space,” said architect Karanbir Duggal. “Emptiness was treated as an active element, allowing the architecture to feel calm, intentional, and deeply immersive rather than visually dense.”
Ami Paris is continuing its flagship opening programme but instead of Europe, this time it has turned its attention to Asia with a debut in Seoul. It has just opened its new multi-level flagship in the heart of Hannam at 45, Itaewon-ro 55ga-gil, Yongsan-gu.
Ami Paris, Seoul
And it said this “signals a meaningful evolution for the brand’s retail experience: spanning over 425 sq m, it stands as Ami Paris’s largest flagship globally, introducing a Parisian wardrobe and gathering place rooted in the timeless principles of Korean Hanok architecture”.
It added that the space “embraces Seoul’s cool contemporary soul, connecting with a culturally rich neighborhood and a style-attentive crowd who value effortless elegance, art, and discovery”.
Intended to be more than a traditional boutique, the venue is conceived as an “urban haven and welcoming residence, representing a respectful adaptation to the local context, with a unique sense of intimacy and togetherness”.
It’s certainly an interesting design. Visitors are guided from the street through an underground passage, emerging into the Ami Garden (“a curated oasis of local flora including rowan and maple trees”) before “ascending to the main entrance. This transitional ritual marks a shift from the city’s pace to a serene, breathing space”.
The design concept is based in traditional Hanoks, “creating a cosy atmosphere through a refined interplay of materials: dark oak, granite, and Maljat stone, accented by Ami Paris’s signature elements of beige limewash, gold, champagne gold and mirror finishes”.
Custom wooden furniture and low-slung seating areas are designed to invite visitors to linger, while bespoke paper lighting, evocative of traditional Hanji, “bathes the interiors in a soft, diffused glow”.
The store also inaugurates an artist residency in collaboration with the Pipe Gallery. Talents “will be invited to engage with the space, ensuring the Ami Paris home remains a dynamic site of cultural conversation”.
At launch, the presentation features the work of Korean-French contemporary artist Chansong Kim.