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Gold is a highly liquid yet scarce asset, and it is no one’s liability. It is bought as a luxury good as much as an investment. As such, gold can play four fundamental roles in a portfolio.

Welcome to the winter edition of Gold Investor, where leading commentators and market participants discuss new developments for gold and its evolving global role.

The third quarter saw a 9% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in gold demand to 915 tonnes (t). Year-to-date (y-t-d) demand was down by 12%.  ETFs had another quarter of positive inflows, but at 18.9t, they fell far short of the 144.3t influx in Q3 2016. 

Welcome to the autumn edition of Gold Investor, where leading commentators and market participants discuss new developments for gold and its evolving global role.

Following a remarkable performance year-to-date, the gold price fell by over 3% on 4 October, taking it below US$1,300/oz for the first time since the Brexit announcement in June 2016.

Continued growth in Q2 2016 (+15%) brought total H1 gold demand to 2,335t – the second highest first half on record.

In this edition, Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, discusses global economic prospects, the limits of monetary policy and the role of gold in a world dominated by ‘radical uncertainty.’

Gold demand reached 1,290 tonnes Q1 2016, a 21% increase year-on-year, making it the second largest quarter on record.