Gold price up over 1%, closing in on new record
Bullion is now 18% higher for the year, boosted by anticipation of Fed loosening as well as significant buying by central banks.
Global physically backed gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) attracted their first inflows in May after a year, powered by additions to holdings by Europe- and Asia-listed funds, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.
Safe-haven demand driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, as well as persistent central bank buying contributed to a rally in gold from March to May, taking spot prices to a record $2,449.89 per ounce on May 20.
Gold ETFs, which store bullion for investors and are a major category of investment demand for the precious metal, saw the inflow of 8.2 metric tons, or $529 million, in May, the WGC, an industry body whose members are global gold miners, said in a research note.
Higher gold prices and inflows drove total assets under management up 2% to $234 billion, the highest since April 2022, it added.
Their collective holdings rebounded to 3,088 tons in May, but were still 8.2% below the 2023 average.
Gold ETFs had three consecutive years of outflows with 244.4 tons of decline in 2023 amid high global interest rates.
(By Polina Devitt; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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