“Starting 2022, you will see demand setting up a new normal toward 800-850 tons,” compared with an average of 667 tons in the five years through 2020, said P.R. Somasundaram, regional chief executive officer for India at the London-based group. The next few years will be key as policy reforms and technology let gold evolve into a more transparent mainstream asset class, he said.

Total demand for jewelry, coins and bars jumped 79% to 797 tons last year, the data showed. Covid-19 and its variants, global concerns on inflation, interest rates and geo-political developments will remain factors to watch in 2022, he said.