"In comparison Q2 2014 was 11% higher than Q2 2012, extending the broad upward trend evident since 2009. India and China remain significant drivers of the global jewellery market, purchasing 154t and 143t respectively," the council has stated in a press release.

In what is traditionally a quieter quarter for jewellery, consumers continued to digest opportunistic purchases made in 2013 and adopted a more "needs" based approach to their jewellery buying, the report said.

"Indian jewellery buying was also affected by high value purchases being restricted in the run up to the election and the continued impact of import restrictions on gold. Meanwhile, there were continued signs of recovery in some Western markets as jewellery demand in the US rose by 15% to 26t and the UK rose 21% to 4t as consumer confidence continued to grow in line with the economy and yellow gold came back into fashion," the council stated.

Central banks bought 118t of gold in Q2 2014, a rise of 28% versus the same period last year. It was the 14th consecutive quarter in which central banks were net purchasers of gold driven by a number of factors, including a continued diversification away from the US dollar and the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions in Iraq and Ukraine.

Marcus Grubb, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at the World Gold Council said: "In the context of an exceptional year last year where we saw record consumer buying and investor sell-offs, this quarter's demand continues to demonstrate a return to long-term trends, illustrating the uniquely balanced nature of the gold market. Jewellery consumers continued to digest the exceptional purchases of 2013 and investors also rebalanced, pulling back from the extremes we saw last year. Overall the gold market is stabilising following the extraordinary conditions we saw in 2013."

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