Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold demand fell to a six-year low in the second quarter as recession curbed buying by jewelers and electronics producers, the World Gold Council said. Central banks were net buyers for the first time since at least 2000. Global consumption fell 8.6 percent to 719.5 metric tons from a year earlier, the London-based industry group said in a report today. That’s the lowest level since the first quarter of 2003. Jewelry demand declined 22 percent and electronics, the biggest industrial use for gold, slid 26 percent. The World Bank said in June the global recession will be deeper than it expected three months earlier. Investors bought 222.4 tons of gold in the quarter, 46 percent more than a year earlier, as an alternative to stocks and bonds, said Rozanna Wozniak, investment research manager at the council. “Tough economic conditions have impacted jewelry and industrial demand,” Wozniak said. “Investment demand provided a cushion and we do expect that to continue.” Central banks bought 14 tons of gold more than they sold, the first quarterly net purchases since at least 2000, according to the council, based on figures from London-based research company GFMS Ltd. The so-called official sector had net sales of 69 tons in the second quarter last year, the report said. Wozniak said GFMS wouldn’t identify any of the buyers. Central bank purchases aren’t counted in the 719.5 tons of total demand because they are considered a traditional source of supply, she said. Other such sources showed gains, including a 6 percent rise in mine production from the second quarter of 2008, and a 21 percent jump in recycled metal, the report said. In India, the largest buyer, gold demand fell 38 percent to 109 tons, while it rose 11 percent in China, the second-biggest buyer, to 89.6 tons, the World Gold Council said. Germany was the biggest investment market with demand of 28 tons, compared with 23 tons in the U.S. and 21 tons in India, the report said.

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