From early 2025 up to and including 12 December, institutional and private investors worldwide purchased shares in gold funds and gold-backed ETCs worth US$155.5 billion, equivalent to 1,534.8 tons of gold. According to a recent publication by the World Gold Council, this represents an increase of 47.7 percent over the gold holdings managed in gold-backed ETFs/ETCs in 2024. The same period, however, also saw significant outflows of US$73.85 billion, or 789.1 tons of gold. This was primarily due to investors taking profits following the sharp rise in the gold price.
US and Asian gold ETFs led net inflows
Of the net inflows (the difference between in- and outflows) of 745.8 tons of gold this year, which correspond to a 23.2 percent growth in gold holdings managed in ETFs/ETCs worldwide, by far the largest share, at 420 tons, was invested in the US. In addition to the increased need for hedging among many investors in view of looming tariffs and a slowdown in the domestic economy, the gold price also played a role, rising particularly sharply in the US due to the weakness of the dollar.
Asian gold funds recorded net inflows of 188.5 tons, corresponding to a US dollar value of 21.87 billion. Net growth for Chinese gold ETFs alone amounted to 113.4 percent.
Europe: highest demand for French and German gold-backed ETCs
With inflows of 93.7 percent, gold-backed ETCs in Italy saw the strongest growth relatively, compared to the modest gold holdings of only 5 tons in 2024. However, investors in France and Germany invested most heavily overall in ETCs in the Eurozone, at 17.6 and 16.9 tons, respectively. Gold-backed ETCs in Switzerland and the UK recorded even more significant inflows of just over 45 tons each.