Despite a general belief that Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) do not invest in gold, our engagement with these institutions in recent years has increasingly shown that many SWFs do incorporate gold in their portfolios for diversification, capital preservation, and other factors.
In April, central banks bought another 31.6t based on IMF data. While the monthly increase is not far off the 6-month average (34.7t), it is 24% lower than March and 35% lower than April 2019.
In March, the SHAUPM rose by 1.4% while LBMA Gold Price AM fell slightly as the RMB weakened relative to the USD. Although new COVID-19 infections in China remained near zero in March, concerns for the pandemic’s aftermath on the domestic economy linger.
To curb the spread of COVID-19, the global restrictions have impacted the global gold supply chain, from production to refining. These supply-chain disruptions have impacted both bullion and gold dore’ imports into India.
In February, central banks bought a net 36 tonnes (t) of gold, almost a third higher than January’s net purchases, but 52% lower y-o-y. This brings y-t-d net purchases to 64.5t, 44% lower than the 116.1t of net purchases over the first two months of 2019.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak supported demand for gold as a safe-haven asset as stocks and commodities fell sharply. Physical gold demand faltered domestically due to COVID-19 and seasonality factors.
