Insights

Trade tensions steered sentiment last week. Trump's temporary tariff relief boosted optimism, but mixed economic data and lingering trade uncertainty kept volatility elevated.

In this episode of Unearthed, co-hosts John Reade and Joe Cavatoni from the World Gold Council deep dive into the global performance of gold ETFs for Q1 2025.

Last week, the US rattled global markets with unexpectedly aggressive reciprocal tariffs, prompting swift retaliation from China and potential countermeasures from others. The aggressive moves raised fears of slower growth, higher inflation, and job losses, overshadowing otherwise positive economic data.

Demand for gold from central bankers continues, with data available for February showing reported global central bank gold reserves rising by 24t. Thus far, Poland, China, Turkey, and the Czech Republic have led gold demand from emerging market central banks. 

Markets focused on trade tensions last week, as a new 25% US auto import tariff and upcoming retaliatory tariffs weighed on sentiment. Stagflation worries added to the pressure.

Gold finally closed above the US$3,000/oz threshold. It has so far rejected technical resistance at $3,040/3,050/oz and the market is seen as highly overstretched, with a possible (healthy) pause in the core uptrend on the cards.

In this episode, hosts John Reade and Joe Cavatoni from the World Gold Council interview Sakhila Mirza, Deputy Chief Executive and General Counsel at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) to learn more about the LBMA’s role in the global gold and precious metals industry.

Gold’s price momentum remains strong, breaching records, with domestic gold prices seeing gains of 13% y-t-d. Price rise dampens jewellery purchases, boosts old gold sales, while investment demand is sustained: gold ETFs saw healthy inflows in February, though below January’s peak.

Gold recently crossed US$3,000/oz intraday – a headline-worthy event, but the true significance for gold lies in the broader economic trends driving its rise.

In this episode of Unearthed, World Gold Council’s Senior Market Strategists Joseph Cavatoni and John Reade analyse the latest trends in the global gold market, including its strong year-to-date performance, changing investor sentiment and gold ETF flows.

China’s official gold holdings rose four months in a row, adding another 5t in February. And Chinese gold investors bought gold ETFs at a record pace in the month, pushing both AUM and holdings to unseen levels. However, gold jewellery demand weakness, amid seasonality and the rising gold price, weighed on total wholesale gold demand in the month.

When considering the factors driving up gold miners’ All-in sustaining costs (AISC), Q3’24 was a busy period. AISC rose to US$1,456/oz (up 4% q/q and 9% y/y), the highest point in our data series back to Q1’10.

Central banks continued their strong interest for gold in January with reported net purchases of 18t. The sustained buying highlights the strategic importance of gold in official reserves, particularly as central banks navigate heightened geopolitical risks.

The gold market has seen a significant rise in COMEX gold inventories, along with a widening of the spread between futures and spot prices, sparked by tariff uncertainty. This, combined with reports of falling inventories in London, has fuelled speculation about stability in the gold market

With our latest Gold Demand Trends report citing that total annual gold investment grew 25% in 2024, many investors are exploring what gold ownership entails and whether their investment should be actively or passively managed.

In this episode of Unearthed, co-hosts Joe Cavatoni and John Reade, Senior Market Strategists for the World Gold Council, are joined by Robert Armstrong, US financial markets editor at the Financial Times and author of the Unhedged newsletter.

Domestic prices track international highs, but demand pressure results in deeper discounts from local dealers. Price surge dims jewellery demand, while investment interest lingers.

Gold began 2025 with vigour: the LBMA Gold Price PM and the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price PM both saw their strongest January in years, rising by 8% and 5% respectively. 

Traders and speculators often borrow shares of such a gold-backed ETF through standard securities lending relationships, which involve the ETF’s shareholders, and do not involve the London gold lease market, or the trust, itself.

In this episode of Unearthed, hosts Joe Cavatoni and John Reade from the World Gold Council share their expert views on the potential unintended impact of US tariffs on gold.