Institutional demand for gold through ETF products accelerated this week, with total inflows reaching $3.2 billion. The SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, reported a 1.8% increase in holdings on Friday, bringing its total to 1,215 tonnes.
European-listed gold ETFs saw the strongest inflows at $1.4 billion, followed by North American products at $1.1 billion. Asian funds added $450 million. Analysts attribute the broad-based buying to institutional portfolio rebalancing in response to the Fed’s rate-cut signal.
“What stands out is the volume, not just the direction,” said a commodities strategist at Macquarie. “This is institutional scale. Not retail dart-throwing. We’re seeing pension funds and sovereign wealth funds adding gold at levels we haven’t seen since the post-COVID reflation trade.”
The concentration of buying in European products is noteworthy. European funds typically attract longer-duration capital from pension and insurance mandates, suggesting this is not a short-term tactical allocation but a structural portfolio shift.
When pension funds and sovereign wealth funds buy gold ETFs at this scale, the floor price for gold rises structurally. Buyers should expect gold to remain elevated through H2 2026 even if short-term price corrections occur. The bid below $4,000 is likely to be strong, making any dip a potential entry point for hedging.