BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Global gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) added 166 tonnes in July, bringing global holdings to a new all-time high of 3,785 tonnes in the first seven months of the year, data from the World Gold Council (WGC) showed.
Gold is widely viewed as insurance against accelerating price rises. Since the beginning of this year, concerns over the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have driven safe-haven flows into gold investment products, most notably gold ETFs.
According to the WGC, by the end of July, global gold ETFs have seen net inflows for eight consecutive months. This brought year-to-date net inflows of gold ETFs to around 899 tonnes, surpassing the previous record annual gain of 646 tonnes set in 2009.
Gold ETFs listed in North America saw an inflow of 118 tonnes in July, accounting for over 70 percent of the monthly global net inflows, while gold ETFs listed in Europe, Asia and other regions increased by 40 tonnes, 4.9 tonnes and 3.4 tonnes, respectively, the WGC data showed.
The price of gold hit a record high by the end of July, leaving the assets under management of gold ETFs and similar products standing at 239 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem
