Physically backed gold ETFs attracted $18 billion in a single month.
It was the second-strongest monthly inflow in history.
But what’s even more interesting is where the money came from.
European gold ETFs attracted $7.9 billion — the largest monthly inflow in history. North America added another $7.7 billion, making it the third-strongest month ever for the region.
In recent years, we’ve grown accustomed to talking mainly about China, central banks, and the movement of physicad the East.
That story hasn’t disappeared.
But in August, Western financial capital joined it in a very significant way.
Global gold ETFs increased their holdings by 121 tonnes during the month and now hold a record 4,189 tonnes of gold. The value of their assets rose to $615 billion.
And yet, as recently as March, North America recorded a record outflow of around $13 billion.
Just a few months later, capital is flowing back in at one of the fastest rates in history.
This is exactly why I’m more interested in capital flows than in a single red or green day on the chart.
The price tells us where gold is trading right now.
Money flows sometimes tell us who is beginning to change their mind.
And if Western institutional capital starts joining central banks’ long-term purchases on a larger scale, it’s a combination I certainly wouldn’t ignore.
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