ETFs Backed by Physical Gold Continue to Experience Inflows in May

Investors continued to flock to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May as stress in the U.S. banking sector showed no sign of abating. Mounting fears over the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis likely also contributed to this demand despite there being only a small chance of a U.S. debt default.

It’s also worth noting that gold demand from central banks has remained strong in 2023 (228t in Q1). Despite the US dollar’s resilience against major currencies, gold is seen as the safe-haven asset of choice by central banks and to date is the best-performing precious metal in 2023 (up 10.60% for the year). ETFs backed by the yellow metal have fared well and experienced significant inflows. As an illustration, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF rose 1.80% week-over-week with inflows of $472 million, extending its year-to-date gains to 12.25%.