by Adam Hamilton
Zeal LLC
The big gold-ETF buying that catapulted gold higher into early August has gone missing in action. That’s why gold stalled out since, drifting sideways flirting with a correction. To continue powering higher, gold needs these major stock-market-capital inflows via exchange-traded funds to resume. The near-term fortunes for the precious-metals complex are heavily dependent on how American traders position in gold ETFs.
For better or worse, exchange-traded funds are increasingly dominating gold’s price trends. Their relative importance has been mounting for years, and cannot be overstated. Major gold ETFs are becoming the global gold market. Despite lingering concerns about gold ETFs’ physical bullion holdings, speculators and investors keep flocking to them. They are the easiest way to get gold portfolio exposure, quick and cheap.
The World Gold Council’s latest quarterly fundamental data on global gold supply and demand yet again revealed gold ETFs’ dominance. The WGC’s Q2’20 Gold Demand Trends report showed global demand being gobbled up by gold ETFs like Pac-Man! Gold surged 12.9% in Q2, which enjoyed one of the most-bullish psychological backdrops ever. A worldwide pandemic raged, which had just spawned a stock panic.