Insights

Explore India's gold market in September: gold prices, retail demand, RBI purchases and more!

Gold prices fell in September. The LBMA Gold Price AM in USD and the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price (PM) in CNY declined by 4.6% and 4.3% respectively last month. The rising interest rate, outflows from global gold ETFs, and a stronger dollar all contributed to gold price weaknesses in September.

In the recently published 2021 Alternative Assets in Europe report, one thing is clear: alternative assets are en vogue amongst European investors.

We’ve regularly discussed rates and inflation in 2021 as two key drivers of global markets. With lower expected future returns on fixed income, these drivers give credence to the idea that many institutional investors would need to move further out on the curve (take more risk) and/or use leverage to meet their financial obligations. Both of which now appear to be happening.

Retail demand was mixed in June: moderate strength in the first half of the month was followed by a softening of demand in the second half due to an absence of wedding dates. Official imports rebounded with easing of lockdown restrictions and the local market flipped back to discount as demand softened from mid-July onwards

Explore China's gold market in July - gold price, consumer demand, outlook and more!

While the possible outcomes of the three-child policy and various supporting measures remain uncertain, we believe there is a link between birth rates and gold consumption, and the details are worth analysing.

Watch our webcast with Bridgewater and Coalition Greenwich for a timely and incisive discussion on post-pandemic portfolio allocation and looking ahead, the outlook for the second half of 2021.

Watch Maybank Asset Management’s global market outlook webinar, where we discuss topics including gold’s role as an inflation hedge, how monetary and fiscal policy impacts gold and more!

Monday, July 19 marked an eagerly anticipated milestone for the UK. ‘Freedom Day’ as it was dubbed, officially closed the chapter on over a year of local COVID-19 restrictions. But it arrived amidst soaring cases of COVID-19 worldwide – the UK included. Concern over the new variant strains has not only put a dampener on the reopening in the UK, but perhaps the global economic recovery.

Retail demand improved as lockdowns eased, while the correction in the domestic gold price lured local investors towards gold ETFs. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 9.4t of gold to its reserves in the month increasing its total gold reserves to 705.6t.

International gold prices fell steeply in June. The weakness in the gold price can be largely attributed to the more-hawkish-than-expected monetary-tightening signals from the US Federal Reserve’s meeting on 18 June.  But the decline in the RMB gold price was narrower than that of the USD gold price, thanks to a 1.6% depreciation in the CNY against the dollar last month. 

I was pleased to speak at Fund Selector Asia's recent Spotlight on Alternatives virtual event. Watch the replay to hear my perspective on topics including: gold's characteristics, and why they may be attractive to investors in alternative assets, what makes gold a strategic asset and the drivers of gold performance.

Summary

• The domestic gold price ended 5.1% higher in May at Rs48,993/10g 
• Retail demand collapsed amid COVID-induced lockdowns in the country 
• Indian official imports slowed and the local market flipped to discount 
• Monthly inflows into gold ETFs slowed as higher returns lured investors towards the equity market. Total holdings for Indian gold-backed ETFs (gold ETFs) reached 33.2t by the end of May; a net inflow of 0.1t (Rs2.9 bn; US$39mn)
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 0.9t of gold to its reserves in the month increasing its total gold reserves to 696.2t.
   

Explore China's gold market in May - gold price, consumer demand, outlook and more!

Explore India's gold market in April - domestic gold prices, retail gold demand, official imports, RBI gold data and more...

I recently had the pleasure of joining Rob Tyson for an episode of 'Dig Deep - The Mining Podcast' for a discussion on our latest Gold Demand Trends report. Listen now!

Explore China's gold market in April - gold price, investment demand, gold imports, retail gold consumption and more

This article for Pensions Age reviews the key findings from a recent World Gold Council/Pensions Age poll and highlights why gold might provide an answer.