Regional Insights

Following an epic 2025, gold’s volatility has risen notably in 2026. This has prompted a key concern among investors: is gold still a strategic asset for Japanese portfolios? Our analysis shows that with various challenges facing Japanese investors in 2026, such as sticky inflationary pressure, rising bond-equity correlation and geopolitical uncertainties, gold remains a strategic asset and improves local portfolio performance.

Australia’s economy continues to grow but resurgent inflation and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s decision to resume tightening in February 2026 – diverging from some of its peers – raises questions around portfolio allocations. Australia's unique geopolitical positioning, with its fortunes tied to increasingly affluent trade partners within the Indo-Pacific while being strategically aligned with the US, has created an asymmetry that makes portfolio diversification crucial. Against this backdrop, gold’s role in Australian portfolios warrants renewed attention. For Australian investors, a strategic allocation to gold offers both a macro hedge and a portfolio diversifier at a time when uncertainty takes centre stage.

Despite strong macroeconomic credentials, Indian financial markets have delivered softer returns amid currency weakness, subdued capital flows, rising global uncertainty. In this environment, gold has emerged as a notable outperformer. Its ability to provide effective diversification, act as buffer during periods of systemic stress, and a currency hedge, reinforces its strategic role in portfolios. For Indian investors, gold remains a resilient anchor for portfolio stability

Indonesia is home to approximately 284 million people spread across its 38 provinces. Within this vast social fabric, gold has long been regarded as an investment asset in Indonesian households, typically in the form of heirloom jewellery passed down from one generation to the next, or in modern-day gold bars and coins. Gold’s enduring appeal reflects both cultural tradition and a deep-rooted belief in its role as a secure and lasting store of value.

To explore current trends and future opportunities we conducted our 2025 annual Chinese jewellery retailer research in partnership with China Gold News for the sixth consecutive year. Through the lens of the retailer we found that gold products continue to dominate Chinese jewellery retailer sales while Heritage and Hard Pure gold jewellery products remain key sources of retailers’ profit. Buying for self-indulgent wear remains key in retailer jewellery sales. Retailer optimism around gold product sales is intact and self-indulgent buying may continue to drive business in the future.

In this investor research report, we explore Japanese investors’ attitudes to gold, such as gold’s shares in their portfolios, barriers to their gold allocation decisions and the potential for gold investment in the future. By assessing the current macro backdrop in Japan and studying local investors’ top needs, we believe gold has the potential to become a more relevant strategic asset in Japanese investors’ portfolios.

China’s gold jewellery demand, in tonnage terms, has been weakening in recent years. But in the meantime, consumers’ total spending on gold jewellery has increased. To identify key trends and opportunities in the market, we partnered with a global research agency in 2024 to conduct a large-scale consumer research project in major gold markets, including China.