Gold holdings backing ETFs and ETCs currently stand at 4,063 tons, according to the World Gold Council, the gold industry's trade association (as of July 24, 2026). That's below the all-time high reached in early March 2026, but higher than the 4,033 tons recorded at the start of the year — and well above prior years: gold holdings in ETFs/ETCs stood at 3,229 tons at the start of 2025 and just 3,205 tons at the start of 2024, even as a gold price rally that began in 2024 continued, only losing significant momentum in the second quarter of 2026. Still, 2026 has brought positive developments of its own.
Modest gains overall so far this year
From January 2 through July 24, 2026, nearly every region recorded gains in physically backed gold ETFs/ETCs, with the exception of US gold funds, where holdings declined by 2.7 percent. Over the same period, European gold ETCs saw modest net inflows of 1.3 percent, Asian gold funds gained 16.2 percent, and funds in other regions posted net inflows of 1.6 percent.
Inflows nearly offset by outflows
Total gold demand from physically backed gold funds and ETCs came to 677 tons, while 643 tons flowed out over the same period — a net gain of 0.8 percent of total holdings. On a positive note: after gold demand turned negative almost everywhere except Europe in the second quarter, the latest data for calendar week 30 of 2026, published July 27 in the World Gold Council's "Gold ETFs, holdings and flows" report, show renewed gains across all regions. Calling this a trend reversal would be premature, though. While the Fed left interest rates unchanged on July 29, 2026, the prospect of future rate hikes continues to weigh on the price of gold.