Research library

Surge in ETF inflows supports Q3 gold demand growth. Gold demand grew modestly to 1,107.9t in Q3 thanks to the largest ETF inflows since Q1 2016

The global bullion banking industry is large and well-established with annual revenues estimated at more than US$1.5bn. The market includes both international banks and smaller local players.

Re-optimising portfolio structures for lower future expected bond returns suggests investors should consider an additional 1%-1.5% gold exposure in diversified portfolios.

Madame Wu Xiaoling, Chairwoman of the Board of the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University and former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, believes that gold has a crucial role to play in China’s continuing development and the internationalisation of the RMB. 

Gold demand was 1,123t in Q2, up 8% y-o-y. H1 demand jumped to a three-year high of 2,181.7t, largely due to record-breaking central bank purchases.

Central banks bought more gold in 2018 than at any time since the early 1970s – and the trend has continued this year. Isabelle Strauss-Kahn, Member of the Advisory Board of the World Gold Council, former Director of Market Operations at the Banque de France and former Lead Financial Officer at the World Bank, explains why.

The first half of 2019 proved quite eventful for financial markets. Stocks retraced their Q4 2018 losses by the end of April only to pullback again in May.

Gold demand lifted by central banks and ETFs. This compares with a relatively weak Q1 2018, when demand sank to a three-year low of just 984.2t. Central bank buying continued apace: global gold reserves grew by 145.5t.

Following the launch of the AAOIFI Shari’ah Standard on Gold in 2016, we have engaged with Islamic banks and financial institutions to develop the market for Shari’ah-compliant gold-backed products. As part of this we undertook research to understand how investors view Islamic finance, their attitudes towards gold, and preferences for gold-backed products.

The upcoming Fed meeting could provide clarity into the intermediate-term price behavior of gold. As uncertainty becomes more prevalent in the future behavior of the Federal Reserve, we examine whether there is any correlation with monetary policy uncertainty/behavior and gold prices.