Global official gold reserves increased by 14.2t in December according to data released by the IMF. Healthy purchases from Turkey and Uzbekistan lifted gross purchases during the month. This marked the tenth monthly purchases for 2021.
Since the Global Financial Crisis, it has been a turbulent ride for investors the world over. Europe has certainly been no exception: investors in the region have had to adapt to a high-risk environment. And as COVID-19 has introduced a new set of challenges to portfolio construction and return generation, robust risk management strategies are a top priority; wealth protection is as important as growth.
As Indian investors allocate a higher share of their capital to equities, they have exposed themselves to greater risk. Gold plays an important role in helping investors manage the risk-return profile of their overall portfolio allocation. Gold played its role as a safe-haven asset during the pandemic year of 2020 and has continued to provide a hedge against market volatility in 2021.
Gold has a unique story when it comes to climate change as almost all emissions come from mining. So if we can decarbonise the mine site, we can look to decarbonise the whole gold value chain, reinforcing gold’s potential as a climate-risk mitigating asset.
Reid Steadman, Head of ESG and Innovation at S&P Dow Jones Indices, joins us for this episode of our Strategic Edge series. Watch his discussion with our Head of ESG Initiatives, Terry Heymann.
The Chinese central bank has intensified its easing monetary policy efforts to accommodate the nation’s slowing economic growth.
On the 24th of December 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope will be launched (weather permitting) and ultimately give humanity the opportunity to understand even more about the universe. Gold, a metal that was born in the stars billions of years ago, has long played a critical role in space exploration - the JWST included.
We worked with our members and collaborated with key industry stakeholders to set out a framework that addresses key environmental, social and governance issues for the gold mining sector.
Retail gold demand in India remained robust in the month, buoyed by festival and wedding purchases. Official imports declined m-o-m due to a higher gold price and ample stocks, and the local market flipped back to discount.
In our conversations with investors we often get asked the same questions about gold’s ESG credentials, and this new video series aims to answer them by showing different perspectives from within the World Gold Council and our membership.
The LBMA Gold Price PM finished November slightly higher as declines towards the end of the month wiped off earlier rallies. While the LBMA Gold Price AM in USD – which we normally use when comparing to the Chinese local gold price ‒ increased by 0.1%, the SHAUPM in CNY saw a minor drop of 0.3%. The appreciating CNY against the dollar and a steadily rising equity market may have contributed to the underperformance of the RMB gold price.
All-in Sustaining Costs (AISC) across the gold mining industry averaged US$1,123/oz in Q3’21, a rise of 4% q-o-q and the highest level since 2013. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of cost growth, with the average AISC up a significant 16% since the corresponding quarter in 2020.
India’s equity market has outperformed major equity markets in 2021, triggered by signs of economic recovery and an accommodative monetary policy from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The United Nations’ climate change conference, COP26, finally wound up after two weeks in Glasgow and an extended period of ‘overtime’, as the world’s governments haggled over the exact nature of their commitments.
Retail demand strengthened in the month with festival and wedding purchases. Official imports were flat m-o-m as stocks remained ample and the average local market premium traded at flat
On November 9th the World Gold Council held an EVOLVE Investment Summit in Singapore. Our series of EVOLVE conferences explore the trends and issues shaping the future of finance. What happens in Asia is hugely significant for the gold market. India and China are the largest gold consuming markets, and other markets in the region including Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan are major trading centres for gold. In a post for goldhub, Dr Parag Khanna, one of this year’s keynote speakers, writes about the shifting economic centre of gravity and Asia’s role in the global economy.
