European gold-backed ETFs/ETCs lead inflows

For the first time in ten months, gold-backed ETFs and ETCs recorded significantly higher inflows than outflows in March 2023: while gold funds worldwide bled 18.6 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council’s latest data, both institutional and private investors were responsible for inflows of 50.7 tonnes of gold. European gold-backed ETFs/ETCs led the way, expanding their holdings by 18.4 tonnes.

Gold funds also increased in North America and Asia

Globally, inflows into gold-backed funds and ETCs in March significantly exceeded outflows, which totalled 18.6 tonnes. North American gold funds increased by 11.5 tonnes, while gold-backed ETFs in Asia grew by 3.3 tonnes, sporting the highest growth of 2.9 per cent, due to their relatively small gold holdings under management. In China, gold trading has traditionally been strictly regulated. However, since their introduction, gold-backed funds have enjoyed great popularity. In the other world regions, gold funds saw slight outflows in March 2023 of -1.1 tonnes.

Q1 2023 ended with significantly higher outflows than inflows

Looking at the first three months of 2023 as a whole, only gold ETFs/ETCs outside Europe and Asia performed positively, including North American funds with net inflows of 10.1 tonnes. Outside these regions, gold-backed funds also saw slight inflows of 1.9 tonnes. Worldwide, however, the 73.8 tonnes of net outflows were offset by only 45.1 tonnes of net inflows in Q1, making the March inflows of 50.7 tonnes seem all the more significant. In the Eurozone, the obvious reason is the price development: Xetra-Gold, for example, traded at €55.34 at the end of February 2023, but increased to a notable €59.39 in March – a rise of 7.3 per cent.