Gold has emotional, cultural and financial value and is bought by different people across the globe for different reasons, often influenced by national socio-cultural factors, local market conditions and wider macro-economic drivers.

Gold’s diverse uses – in jewellery, technology and by central banks and investors – mean different sectors of the gold market rise to prominence at different points in the global economic cycle. This diversity of gold demand and self-balancing nature of the gold market underpin gold’s robust qualities as an investment asset.