Global gold demand rises 3pc in Q2

LONDON, Aug 4 (Reuters): Global gold demand including over-the-counter (OTC) trading rose by 3% year-on-year to 1,248.8 metric tons in the second quarter of 2025 as investment jumped 78%, the World Gold Council said.

Spot gold prices are up 26% so far this year after hitting a record $3,500 per troy ounce in April as uncertain global trade policy and geopolitical turbulence fuelled inflows into safe-haven assets.

Demand for gold bars rose 21% in the second quarter, offsetting a continuing slump in demand for coins, said the WGC, an industry body whose members are global gold miners.

Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their largest semi-annual inflow since the first half of 2020 from January to June, the WGC said earlier in July.

Global gold jewellery consumption, the main category of physical demand, fell 14% to 341.0 tons, the lowest level since the pandemic-swept third quarter of 2020, as the high prices deterred buyers.

Central banks, another major source of gold demand, reduced purchases by 21% to 166.5 tons in the second quarter, the WGC calculated, based on reported purchases and an estimate of unreported buying.