In the first quarter of 2016, Iran bought 15 tons of gold in the form of coins and bars. Thus, this Muslim country occupies a leading position on the demand for gold in the Middle East.
The weakening of the international sanctions against Iran boosted demand for the yellow precious metal from its inhabitants. This opinion was expressed by Economic Times. According to the World Gold Council, the gold demand from Iran in the first quarter of 2016 amounted to 15 tons, which corresponds to the volume of the previous three quarters, and half of the volume in the whole last 2015.It is worth recalling that at the end of 2015 the demand for investment gold in Iran amounted to 30 tons, which corresponds to 48% of the total demand for investment gold (coins, ingots) in the Middle East (including Egypt). 9.9 tons of jewelry gold which was sold in Iran for the first quarter of this year should be added to investment gold. As a result of the whole 2015 the country sold 37.2 tons of jewelry gold in the form of ornaments, which corresponds to 16% of total demand in the Middle East.
As for jewelry gold in general, the obvious leaders of consumption are Saudi Arabia (71.1 tons in 2015) and the UAE (51.4 tons in 2015). The main reason for a sharp rise in demand for gold in Iran is the abolition of economic sanctions by Western countries. On July 14, 2015 an agreement was signed in Vienna, according to which Iran refuses to develop nuclear weapons, against which actively spoke the US and its allies.