Singapore’s investment in gold bar and coins jumped 37% year-on-year to 2.2 tonnes in the second quarter.
The figure was lower than the historic high of 2.5 tonnes recorded in the first quarter, according to the World Gold Council.
In Southeast Asia, second-quarter gold investment rose in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand with double-digit year-on-year growth, while Vietnam experienced a 20% drop.
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A person shows a box of gold bars in Singapore in 2020. Photo by AFP |
Gold jewelry demand in Singapore, however, fell 8% to 1.5 tonnes, driven by record-high gold prices that limited purchasing power, with global jewelry consumption dropping to levels seen during the pandemic, according to The Straits Times.
Globally, bar and coin investment grew 11%, totaling 306.8 tonnes.
Chinese investors led with 115 tonnes, followed by Indian investors with 46 tonnes. European net investment surged to 28 tonnes, doubling from last year, while U.S. demand for bars and coins fell by half to 9 tonnes in Q2.
Geopolitical tensions, market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty will continue to drive investment demand in gold, according to the council.
The U.S. dollar will likely be pivotal to more institutional investment cohorts in the second half of the year, and there is both a strong consensus and rationale for a structurally weaker U.S. dollar in the medium term, it added.
