Gold mining costs continue rising in Q1'21
Costs in the gold mining industry increased for the second consecutive quarter in Q1’21, with the global average All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) up by 5% q-o-q to US$1,048/oz, reaching its highest level since Q2’13.
India’s gold market in May: retail demand collapsed amid COVID-induced lockdowns
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.
China’s gold market in May: holiday-related sales drove retail gold consumption
Gold ETF inflows catch up to gold price strength
Global gold ETFs added 61.3t tonnes (t) (US$3.4bn, 1.7% AUM) in May, reversing three straight months of net outflows. We believe this to be largely a function of investment demand increasing with the price strength of gold, along with renewed inflation concerns in the market, a weaker dollar and lower real yields. Global assets under management (AUM) stand at 3,628t (US$222bn). AUM is now only 9% shy of the August 2020 high of US$240bn and 7% shy of the October 2020 tonnage high of 3,908t.
Back to the gold fold: a podcast with UBP
Listen to this podcast ‘Back to the gold fold’ for topics including US real rates, gold demand trends in consumer and investment markets, the COMEX market dislocation and the differences between gold and cryptocurrencies
