Gold-Backed Inflows Rise in Asia and Europe

In the past month, global gold-backed exchange traded fund holdings added 15 tonnes. Ultimately, Europe and Asia drove inflows.

Published June 6, 2018, 10:45am ET · 1 min read

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In the past month, global gold-backed exchange traded fund holdings added 15 tonnes (t) to 2,484. Ultimately, Europe and Asia drove inflows as European funds have responded strongly in the past two months and North American fund flows reversed their early 2018 trend as they lost 2.3% of assets. The North American loss is likely a result of the volatile prices in the gold market, which left gold lower by 60 basis points on the month.

Volatility and weakness in the gold market were largely driven by a stronger dollar. However, USD-hedged gold was higher by 1.4% on the month

A few highlights from the World Gold Council’s monthly report:

  • North American funds lost 30t (US$1.2 billion, 2.3% of assets under management).
  • European funds saw solid net inflows in May, growing by 26t (US$1.2bn, 2.8%).
  • Total fund holdings in Asia rose by 21t (US$862mn) growing assets by 20%.
  • Funds in other regions lost 2t, or 6% of assets.

Overall, SDPR Gold Shares was the main driver of U.S. and North American outflows losing 24t (US$1 billion, 2.7%), while iShares Gold Trust also lost 2t (US$100 million).

Inflows in Europe were once again led by Xtrackers Physical Gold (23t, 74%) in Germany and Invesco Physical Gold (4t, 3.5%) in the United Kingdom.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.

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