First-half gold demand jumps on central bank, ETF buying

The following is an edited summary from the World Gold Council, based on its “Gold Demand Trends Q2 2019” report. To access the report, visit www.gold.org. Global gold demand grew to 1,123 tonnes in this year’s second quarter – an 8% rise on the same period last year, according to the World Gold Council’s latest Gold Demand Trends report. Continued central bank buying and sustained growth in gold-backed, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drove this increase. Taken together with the first quarter of the year, gold demand increased to 2,181.7 tonnes in the first six months of 2019, up 8%, compared with the first half of last year. Central banks bought 224.4 tonnes of gold in second quarter 2019. This took first-half buying to 374.1 tonnes – the largest net first half increase in global gold reserves in our data series. In a continuation of recent trends, buying was spread across a range of largely emerging market countries. Holdings of gold-backed ETFs grew 67.2 tonnes in the second quarter to a six-year high of 2,548 tonnes. Continued geopolitical instability, dovish commentary on monetary policy from central banks, and the rallying gold price in June were the main factors driving inflows into the sector. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.