Institutional investors, central banks and individuals have been snapping up gold in the past six months, which was reflected in a volatile gold price.
Gold has been one of the strongest performing assets over the past year, even after a wild six months for the gold price that has only recently begun to lose some lustre.
The World Gold Council's Gold Mid-Year Outlook released Wednesday noted that gold had set more than 12 all-time highs through the past six months and reached a record $5,405/oz in late January, before falling to a low of $4,002/oz in June, and is now down about 7% year-to-date, with volatility rising to 30%.
“Gold has come under pressure near US$4,000/oz this year and previously rebounded, supported by organic demand from long-term buyers across multiple geographies. That structural demand from central banks, institutional investors, and consumers worldwide is what underpins gold's resilience," said World Gold Council Global Head of Research and Regional CEO Juan Carlos Artigas in a statement.
The report noted that the US-Iran conflict and shifting rate expectations were the biggest swing factors for the price over the past six months, and possibly over the next six months, while Asian trading sessions accounted for much of the price action – signalling how central Asian investors have become to global price discovery.
