World Gold Council: Physical gold demand for investment up 80% in first quarter 2020

“The coronavirus pandemic – and the global response to it – had a far-reaching impact on gold investment in Q1. At the total level, investment in Q1 grew 80% y-o-y to a four-year high of 539.6t. Bar and coin investment was down 6% from Q1 2019 at 241.6t. ETFs, however, attracted 298t of inflows, boosting global holdings to new highs. On one hand, fears over the economic and social impact of the virus drove safe-haven flows into many investment products, most notably gold ETFs and official gold coins, fuelling the gold price. But on the other hand, concerns over the gloomy economic outlook combined with higher gold prices encouraged many to sell their existing holdings in an effort to combat the financial hardship imposed by the outbreak. And investment simply came to a halt in some jurisdictions as markets shut down, preventing investors from buying.”

USAGOLD note:  We referenced this report in yesterday’s DMR and repost it now for those who may have missed it. The virus inspired safe-haven rush was led by institutional investors buying through gold ETFs, and to a lesser extent, retail coin and bullion buyers. It is worth noting that the report cuts off in March and, as a result, does not fully reflect the impact of heavy retail coin and bullion demand that began in March and gathered pace in April. The mixed results also raise a question as to how future physical supplies are likely to be affected once Asian demand returns from its understandable decline.