The World Gold Council (WGC) reports that, together with global investor Augmentum Capital, it has invested in an online gold company, BullionVault.

“BullionVault is a natural partner for the WGC because it has successfully established itself as a credible market leader in offering retail investors a secure, cost effective and convenient way to access physical gold through the Internet,” says World Gold Council MD for investment Marcus Grubb.

The WGC notes that retail demand for gold has grown by a compound yearly growth rate of 12% in tonnage and 32% in value terms over the past five years.

“The association’s research has identified significant unmet demand for gold among retail investors in Western markets that would be well served by convenient and transparent access to physical gold online,” Grubb explains.

Increasingly, retail investors are turn- ing to gold, as it is easily accessible and gives consumers the confidence to sig- nificantly save and preserve wealth, particularly in the current investment environment, he adds.

The WGC states that it will be support- ing BullionVault as it seeks to further develop the market, ensuring that the company can tackle the growing con- sumer demand for physical gold investment online.

“Further, since the WGC is commit- ted to increasing awareness of gold and developing the global gold market across all sectors, we will continue to seek opportunities to further develop the gold market,” he points out.

Meanwhile, on the current gold market, the WGC reports that investor flow from Western markets will provide a key means of support to the gold price during the second quarter of 2010, owing to investors seeking to diversify their exposure to other assets and protect their wealth against high and rising debt levels in Western economies, he explains.

In India, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Dubai, gold jewellery demand will continue to recover, after reaching 4 707 t in the first quarter of 2010, he adds.

“The economic recovery in Europe and the US will add to this demand, as a potential return to restocking in the jewellery sector is likely, given that existing inventories have been run down, since the first half of 2009, to very lean levels. This should provide funda- mental support to the gold price,” he concludes.