Gold investment in the city-state climbed 37% year-on-year to 2.2 tonnes in the second quarter of 2025, The Business Times reported, citing a report by the World Gold Council.
The SPDR Gold Shares ETF, listed in both Singapore and the U.S., has gained steadily since the start of the year, attracting S$309 million (US$238 million) in net inflows by Jun. 13, more than any other Singapore-listed ETFs.
Other gold-backed funds available to retail investors, including the iShares Gold Trust, abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF, and GraniteShares Gold Trust in the U.S., have also gained.
Stocks related to the metal have also been picked up by more local investors. Shares of Singapore-listed miner CNMC Goldmine have surged more than 440% from January to above S$1.30 now.
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Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central’s office in Singapore, June 19, 2017. Photo by Reuters |
Heng Koon How, UOB’s head of market strategy, noted in a report earlier this month that retail investors in Singapore are among those who have ramped up their gold holdings, as quoted by The Straits Times.
The trend comes as global prices surge partly due to rising demand, which extends beyond physical bullion to gold-backed ETFs, futures and certificates, he said.
Kelvin Ng, the Singapore-based lender’s head of group global markets, said market uncertainty has also prompted more investors in the city-state to turn to physical gold.
Over the first three quarters, investors bought 65% more gold on average each month through the bank’s gold savings account than in 2024. Physical gold purchases during the period also rose 42% from a year earlier, he said.
He added that more investors are turning to gold certificates, reflecting “a growing preference among retail customers to store their gold with the bank.”
In contrast, data from WGC showed that demand for gold jewelry in the city-state fell 8% year-on-year to 1.5 tonnes in the second quarter as the metal’s prices weighed on demand.
Demand similarly up across Southeast Asia
The gold demand in Singapore has prompted Singapore Mint, a subsidiary of locally listed conglomerate Sembcorp Industries, to launch its Lion Bullion range of investment-grade gold bars last month, Nikkei Asia reported.
The project is one of several recently launched across Southeast Asia as gold companies seek to capitalize on soaring global rates.
Spot gold has climbed 53% so far this year, reaching a historic high of US$4,078.05 per ounce on Monday. The rally has been supported by rising geopolitical tensions, strong central bank purchases, ETF inflows and economic uncertainty linked to tariffs, according to Reuters.
Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs raised its December 2026 price forecast for gold to $4,900 per ounce from $4,300 on robust investor demand through Western ETFs and sustained central bank buying.
While China and India have traditionally led global gold consumption, recent data has highlighted Southeast Asia’s growing enthusiasm for the metal.
The WGC report also noted that investment in gold bars and coins jumped 38% year-on-year in Thailand in the second quarter while it was up 29% in Indonesia and 25% in Malaysia.
Shaokai Fan, the council’s head of Asia-Pacific and central banks, said gold has consistently shown its resilience during times of instability.
“It’s also a relatively liquid asset, so I think that’s what caused a lot of investors to still invest in gold despite the fact that the price is relatively high,” Channel News Asia quoted him as saying earlier this year.
“Many investors have (…) turned to gold as a way to brace themselves against an uncertain world.”
