In many Asian countries, gold has traditionally held a much higher status amongst the population than in Europe or the US, which is reflected in high private demand for the precious metal. For several years now, the region's central banks have also been massively expanding their gold reserves in order to become less dependent on the US dollar. Gold is also enjoying growing popularity as an investment and as a means of portfolio diversification amongst both institutional and private investors in Asia – whether in the form of gold bars or exchange-traded gold funds. Whilst gold ETFs in the US have recorded outflows so far in 2026 and gold-backed ETCs in Europe are showing mixed developments with overall weak growth, demand is high in almost all Asian countries.
78 tonnes of gold in 2026: 18 percent inflows into ETFs in Asia
According to the latest World Gold Council’s publication “Gold ETFs, holdings and flows” from 26 June 2026, Asian gold funds have recorded total inflows of 78 tonnes year-to-date, with the lion's share of the demand in China, which has been regarded as the largest consumer of the precious metal for years. Indian gold ETFs also increased their holdings by 22.5 percent. Gold funds in Hong Kong saw a real surge in demand, with inflows of over 165 percent year-to-date, followed by Singapore with 146 percent and Malaysia with 29.5 percent. South Korean ETFs also increased their holdings by just under 18 percent.
Outflows in the US, mixed trends in Europe
With a decline of 36.5 tonnes, US gold funds led the outflows in 2026, although this accounts for only 1.8 percent of US gold holdings. This reflects US investors' expectations of rising key interest rates. In Europe, gold-backed ETCs in the UK and Switzerland in particular recorded modest inflows, whilst German gold-backed ETCs saw slight outflows of -0.1 percent. French gold-backed ETCs recorded slightly higher outflows of -3 percent, and Italian ETCs of -12 percent.