The World Gold Council said Wednesday that September inflows of $10 billion lifted third-quarter inflows to the record, with holdings up 67 tonnes to an all-time 4,256 tonnes even as gold finished September at $4,176 an ounce. The September decline followed a 13 percent August surge to $4,563, gold’s third-strongest monthly performance in 25 years. Total assets under management fell 7 percent on the month to $574 billion as prices dropped, while third-quarter holdings grew 211 tonnes and AUM rose 9 percent.
BMO Capital Markets analysts called the divergence unusual: Comex managed-money positions fell by the equivalent of 84 tonnes in September while spread positions dropped 156 tonnes, more than offsetting ETF demand as the US 10-year yield climbed 53 basis points to 5.3 percent and the dollar index gained 2 percent. US-listed funds drew $689 million last week and European funds $452 million.
The UK is the standout. British-listed funds attracted $7.5 billion in the quarter, their strongest three months on record, overtaking Chinese-listed products as the largest source of country-level inflows this year at $9.5 billion year-to-date. The council estimated UK funds added 54 tonnes during the quarter, about three times what their historical relationship with other Western flows would imply. The council suggests investors are increasingly using gold as protection against fiscal and bond-market risks rather than reacting to single shocks, with central banks adding 39 tonnes in August led by China, Poland and Uzbekistan.