Trading volumes remain elevated
Global gold trading volumes slightly fell, reaching US$241bn/day in August, 3.2% lower m/m. Average trading volumes over-the-counter (OTC) rose further by 5.9% m/m to US$158bn/day. In tonnage terms, OTC volumes saw a 2% m/m increase. Exchange-traded activities cooled to US$80bn (-18% m/m), mainly due to a 28% m/m decline in COMEX volumes. In contrast, gold trading at the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose by 11% m/m. Global gold ETF trading volumes increased by 17% m/m – mainly contributed by North American funds (+20% m/m).
COMEX total net longs continued to rise, arriving at 917t by the end of August, a 17% m/m rise and the highest month-end level since February 2020. Increasing net longs were mainly contributed by money managers – their net positions reached 737t as of August, 25% higher than the end-July level and 71% above the H1 average of 430t. Similar to previous months, gold’s eye-catching performance and investors’ rising bets on the Fed’s future rate cuts were main drivers.