- Gold investment surged in August lifting assets under management to an unprecedented $615 billion and total holdings to 4,189 tons after funds added 121 tons during the month. The United States led global inflows with $8.3 billion, while strong demand across Europe and Asia drove trading activity higher, reflecting growing investor appetite for gold amid monetary policy, currency and financial-market concerns.
- August figures underline the scale of institutional and market-based investment flows into gold, with ETF assets, holdings and trading activity all reaching elevated levels as investors continued to increase exposure to the precious metal amid shifting monetary, currency and financial-market conditions.
Global investment demand for gold strengthened sharply in August, with gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recording nearly $18 billion in net inflows, pushing assets under management to a record $615 billion and total holdings to 4,189 tons, according to the World Gold Council.
Gold ETFs added approximately 121 tons to their holdings during August, representing a monthly increase of nearly 3 percent. At the same time, the average daily trading volume of gold rose 21 percent to about $430 billion, underscoring the expanding level of investor participation in the market.
Europe and North America accounted for the bulk of August’s ETF inflows. European-listed funds attracted around $7.9 billion, while North American funds received approximately $7.7 billion. Asian-listed funds recorded about $2 billion, while other markets attracted a further $234 million.
At the individual market level, the United States led global inflows with approximately $8.3 billion, lifting its gold fund holdings to around 2,015 tons. The United Kingdom followed with $4.4 billion in inflows and holdings of about 671 tons.
France recorded approximately $1.5 billion in inflows, followed by China with around $1.54 billion. Germany attracted about $1 billion, while Switzerland recorded approximately $761 million.
Since the beginning of the year, global gold ETF inflows have reached about $29 billion, while holdings have increased by approximately 160 tons. Asian-listed funds have been the largest contributors to year-to-date flows, followed by European funds, while North American flows turned positive after declining in March.
The World Gold Council attributed August’s strong investment demand to concerns surrounding monetary policy and currency markets, including developments involving the Japanese yen, as well as growing concerns over public finances and US Treasury yields.
The continued rise in gold prices and their move above key technical levels also strengthened investment momentum, as investors increased their positions in gold and sought to participate in its strong market performance.
The US market recorded a notable increase in net long positions in gold contracts on Comex, which rose by approximately 39 percent, or 212 tons, to 753 tons by the end of the reporting period.
Within the futures market, managed funds increased their net long positions to 470 tons, up by 96 tons, while other reported market participants raised their net positions to 283 tons, an increase of 115 tons.
Gold trading activity also expanded across major market segments. Over-the-counter (OTC) trading averaged approximately $226 billion per day, while trading in the London market reached around $199 billion per day. Liquidity in exchange-traded markets increased by approximately 33 percent.
Meanwhile, the average daily trading volume of gold ETFs surged 83 percent to about $8.7 billion, while the average daily volume of gold traded reached approximately 3,021 tons.
The August figures underline the scale of institutional and market-based investment flows into gold, with ETF assets, holdings and trading activity all reaching elevated levels as investors continued to increase exposure to the precious metal amid shifting monetary, currency and financial-market conditions.
