Gold ETFs: Developed economies witness outflows, but India and China buck the trend

Gold ETFs: Developed economies witness outflows, but India and China buck the trend

In India, the heightened stock market volatility and a correction in the domestic gold price drove holdings in gold ETFs





November 18, 2021 / 10:12 AM IST





Gold ETFs, the popular vehicles for investing in the yellow metal, have registered net outflows globally in 2021. The monthly report on ‘Global gold-backed ETF flows’ published by the World Gold Council states that Gold ETFs have experienced outflows in six of the first 10 months of the year as ETF investors have generally followed gold price trends. Year-to-date, gold ETFs have seen global outflows of 181 tonnes (US$9.7bn) as large North American and some European funds have lost assets in line with oscillating gold prices.





Gold found favour during 2019 and 2020 when COVID broke out. Things changed since the start of 2021 as gold has been under pressure on account of the dollar and US bond yields that strengthened on expectations of a quick US economic recovery on the back of a successful COVID vaccination drive across world. North America (US and Canada) and Europe witnessed mostly net outflows throughout this year due to central government announcements and heightened expectations of interest rate hikes, the report