China News Service, Beijing, March 8 (Reporter Ruan Yulin Yan Xiaohong) The World Gold Council disclosed on the 8th that since 2024, global gold ETFs have experienced cumulative outflows of approximately US$5.7 billion.
The World Gold Council said that in February, global physical gold ETF outflows were approximately US$2.9 billion, marking the ninth consecutive month of outflows. During the same period, as gold prices fell 0.3%, total assets under management (AUM) fell to US$206 billion, down from the previous month. It decreased by 1.8%, the lowest value since September last year.
Total global gold ETF holdings decreased by 49 tons to 3,126 tons, 20% lower than the month-end peak in October 2020.
The last time global gold ETFs experienced similar declines was between May 2022 and February 2023, when outflows lasted for 10 months.
Despite this, the current round of continued outflows from gold ETFs has had little negative impact on gold price performance. Resilient consumer demand and strong gold purchases by global central banks still provide support for gold prices.
Looking at different regions, funds in North America have experienced outflows for two consecutive months, with outflows amounting to approximately US$2.4 billion in February.
In the first two months of 2024, North American fund outflows amounted to approximately US$4.7 billion, which was the second-worst start to the year ever, second only to 2013.
Following outflows in February, total North American gold ETF holdings fell to a four-year low.
During the same period, fund outflows in the European region narrowed.
In contrast, Asian regional funds experienced inflows for the 12th consecutive month, with inflows amounting to approximately US$200 million in February.
While the RMB gold price remains stable, Chinese investors' interest in gold continues unabated, which has also contributed to the situation in which fund inflows into the Chinese market lead Asia.
In the past 12 months, funds in Asia have accumulated a total inflow of US$2 billion, and the total asset management scale has increased by 41%.
In February, the global gold market trading volume shrank, with the average daily trading volume reaching US$147 billion, a 16% month-on-month decrease.
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