Gold Prices Spiked on Record ETF Inflows During H1 2020

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council’s (WGC) latest Gold Demand Trends report noted that the record inflows to gold ETFs has helped gold prices stage strong rally. Meantime, Covid-19 pandemic has impacted global consumer demand in the initial six-month period of the current year.

According to the report, the initial half of the year recorded inflows of 734 tonnes into gold-backed ETFs. The robust inflows surpassed the annual inflows of 646 tonnes in 2009. The global holdings in ETFs stood at 3,621 tonnes at the end of June this year. Also, central banks purchased 233 tonnes of the yellow metal during H1 this year, significantly down by 39% from the 2019 levels.

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Meantime, the total gold demand recorded 6% year-on-year decline to 2,076 tonnes in H1, primarily on soft demand from consumer sectors. The investments in gold bars and coins totalled 397 tonnes, which is the lowest level in almost 11 years. The demand across Asia saw huge decline. The gold jewellery demand nearly halved to 572 tonnes. The Q2 demand hit unprecedentedly low level of 251 tonnes.

The WGC Report noted that the total investment demand edged higher by 90% in H1 to 1,131 tonnes. The demand in the technology sector has dropped by 13% year-on-year. Also, the overall demand tumbled by 6% when compared to H1 2019.