Insights

Between 23:30 and 23:45 BST 17,538 contracts traded on Comex, low was $1677.90. Between 23:45 to Midnight a further 7,825 contracts traded and 5,705 in the 15 minutes that followed...

While the possible outcomes of the three-child policy and various supporting measures remain uncertain, we believe there is a link between birth rates and gold consumption, and the details are worth analysing.

Watch our webcast with Bridgewater and Coalition Greenwich for a timely and incisive discussion on post-pandemic portfolio allocation and looking ahead, the outlook for the second half of 2021.

Based on available data, central banks bought a net 32t of gold in June 2021. While Brazil was by far the bigger buyer in the month, several other central banks were active.

Watch Maybank Asset Management’s global market outlook webinar, where we discuss topics including gold’s role as an inflation hedge, how monetary and fiscal policy impacts gold and more!

Monday, July 19 marked an eagerly anticipated milestone for the UK. ‘Freedom Day’ as it was dubbed, officially closed the chapter on over a year of local COVID-19 restrictions. But it arrived amidst soaring cases of COVID-19 worldwide – the UK included. Concern over the new variant strains has not only put a dampener on the reopening in the UK, but perhaps the global economic recovery.

Retail demand improved as lockdowns eased, while the correction in the domestic gold price lured local investors towards gold ETFs. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 9.4t of gold to its reserves in the month increasing its total gold reserves to 705.6t.

Listen to the latest episode of Investment Magazine's Market Narratives podcast, exploring the impact of the Basel III changes on gold, global investment trends and the role of gold as a strategic asset. 

International gold prices fell steeply in June. The weakness in the gold price can be largely attributed to the more-hawkish-than-expected monetary-tightening signals from the US Federal Reserve’s meeting on 18 June.  But the decline in the RMB gold price was narrower than that of the USD gold price, thanks to a 1.6% depreciation in the CNY against the dollar last month. 

Last month we participated in the Responsible Asset Owners Global Symposium. We have been a supporter of this event series since its inception in 2019 as it brings together leading investors to tackle important topics around the ESG agenda within the investment community.

In a move which brings it closer in line with the US approach, the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to adopt the tolerance for inflation overshooting its target. What does this mean for European investors, who have been watching the wrangling within the ECB over the direction of monetary policy for months now?

Bob Haber, Founder, Partner and CIO at Proficio Capital Partners joins us for this edition of our Strategic Edge video series. Watch now for his investment insights, in conversation with Joe Cavatoni, our Head of Americas.

Following a higher level of monthly net purchases in March and April, our latest data published today shows that this trend continued into May.

I was pleased to speak at Fund Selector Asia's recent Spotlight on Alternatives virtual event. Watch the replay to hear my perspective on topics including: gold's characteristics, and why they may be attractive to investors in alternative assets, what makes gold a strategic asset and the drivers of gold performance.

Costs in the gold mining industry increased for the second consecutive quarter in Q1’21, with the global average All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) up by 5% q-o-q to US$1,048/oz, reaching its highest level since Q2’13.

The Shanghai-London gold price spread again turned negative in June after being positive since early 2021, falling to -US$6.7/oz on 2 June and remaining negative most days during the month.

Last month, we held a webinar with S&P Global and our Members at which S&P presented their Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). Many of our Members already submit the CSA and this was an opportunity to review industry data from past assessments and discuss how elements of the RGMPs could potentially be incorporated into their methodology going forward.

Joining us for this episode in our Strategic Edge video series is Alasdair McKinnon, Manager at The Scottish Investment Trust, in conversation with John Reade, our Chief Market Strategist.

Gold’s price has dropped by almost 7% since the end of May. Most of the move can be attributed to an increase in interest rates following last week’s US Federal Reserve (Fed) FOMC meeting. Gold’s reaction is not surprising given that it has experienced higher sensitivity to interest rates over the past year

Summary

• The domestic gold price ended 5.1% higher in May at Rs48,993/10g 
• Retail demand collapsed amid COVID-induced lockdowns in the country 
• Indian official imports slowed and the local market flipped to discount 
• Monthly inflows into gold ETFs slowed as higher returns lured investors towards the equity market. Total holdings for Indian gold-backed ETFs (gold ETFs) reached 33.2t by the end of May; a net inflow of 0.1t (Rs2.9 bn; US$39mn)
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) added 0.9t of gold to its reserves in the month increasing its total gold reserves to 696.2t.