Gold-backed ETFs had $6bn worth of inflows in August, the third month in a row ETFs exposed to the yellow metal have had positive net flows, according to the World Gold Council’s (WGC) monthly flows report.
Collective holdings in gold ETFs grew by 122t to 2,733t, having reached a three year high last month and remains only 2% shy from the commodity’s record high of 2,781t in 2012.
The price of gold was significantly higher back in 2012 at $1,665/oz, 7.6% higher than its spot price at the time of writing of $1,535/oz. This value however, is expected to continue growing to $1,550/oz by Q2 2020, according to WisdomTree. As a result of the gold price rising 7% in August as well as positive net flows, global assets under management climbed 12% to $134bn.
WGC says the reason for the significant inflows is driven by fears of a recession which usually follows an inverted yield curve which is currently being experienced in the US. Other factors include the trade war between the US and China as well as Brexit uncertainty.
The US-listed SPDR Gold Shares was the largest growing product with inflows of $2.7bn, significantly ahead of the iShares Gold Trust which pulled in $896.8m. The most popular ETF in Europe was the iShares Physical Gold ETC and had inflows of $441.3m.
Year-to-date flows into gold-backed ETFs are at $14bn worth 292t, supported by the performance in the last three months.
