DEMAND WORRIES CAP GAINS IN GOLD

Published on Apr 12, 2021 12:06

Gold futures stayed well supported last week as a bounce above $1700 per ounce extended amid good buying as traders focused on the durability of the current recovery following a spurt in Covid-19 cases globally. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said disparate efforts to vaccinate people globally is a risk to progress for the economic rebound. The recovery remains uneven and incomplete, Powell noted in a virtual panel Thursday during the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund. Gold also benefited from weak US dollar and broke above $1750 per ounce mark, hitting near a six-week high. However, gains were capped as a massive spurt in Covid-19 cases are likely to hurt the retail purchases in India. The overall trend in global investment demand also remained lax. The World Gold Council stated that global gold Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs lost 107.5t tonnes (t) (-US$5.9bn, -2.9% AUM) in March, marking outflows for the fourth month out of five. This was also the second month in a row in which net outflows ranked the top 10 worst outflows historically. Global assets under management (AUM) stand at 3,574t (US$194.5bn), back to levels last seen in June 2020. Since the peak asset levels in November 2020, gold ETF holdings have fallen nearly 10% in tonnage terms, on a par with the approximate loss in the price of gold over the same period.