The gold market is large, global, and highly liquid. We estimate that physical gold holdings by investors and central banks are worth approximately US$12.6tn,1 with an additional US$1.4tn in open interest through derivatives traded on exchanges or the over-the counter (OTC) market.
The gold market is also more liquid than those of several major assets, including euro/sterling and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while OTC trading volumes are similar to those of US T-Bills (Chart 9). Gold’s overall trading volumes averaged approximately US$361bn per day in 2025. During that period, OTC trading accounted for US$180bn – primarily in the form of spot contracts – and gold futures traded US$174bn per day across various global exchanges. Physically-backed gold ETFs (gold ETFs) offer an added source of liquidity, with global gold ETFs trading an average of US$7bn per day (Chart 10).
Chart 9: Gold trades more than many other major financial assets
Average daily trading volumes over the last year in US dollars*
Case for Gold 2026: Chart 9
Sources:
Bloomberg,
BIS,
TRACE,
Bundesrepublik Deutschland Finanzagentur GmbH,
Nasdaq,
SIFMA,
UK Debt Management Office (DMO),
World Gold Council; Disclaimer
*Based on estimated average daily trading volumes from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, except for currencies that correspond to April 2025 daily volumes due to data availability, and UK Gilts and German Bunds that correspond to 2024 data. Top three US most traded stocks represents the average of Apple, Nvidia and Tesla. **Gold liquidity includes estimates on OTC transactions and published statistics on futures exchanges, and gold-backed exchange-traded products.
Chart 10: Gold is liquid across key investment platforms
Average daily trading volume by point of access in 2025*
Case for Gold 2026: Chart 10 (cogs)
Average daily trading volume by point of access in 2025*
**Average daily trading volume from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Gold liquidity includes estimates of OTC transactions, published statistics on futures exchanges, and gold-backed exchange-traded products. A detailed breakdown of the composition and calculation of gold trading volumes is available on Goldhub.com.
The scale and depth of the market means that it can comfortably accommodate large, buy-and-hold institutional investors. In stark contrast to many financial markets, gold’s liquidity does not dry up, even at times of financial stress. Importantly, gold allows investors to meet liabilities when less liquid assets in their portfolio are difficult to sell or are mispriced.
