InvestIdeas

The combined share count of GLD and IAU outstanding have been falling for years. They’re down a combined 29% since peaking in 2020.

Folks might not be buying yet. But if the metal is rising despite these outflows, it’ll be hard for the current boom to slow down.

In short, we’re still in the early stages of a major bull market for gold. Investors still hate the boom today… But that hate won’t last forever. And we’ll see the biggest gains once sentiment reverses.

China is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of the precious metal.

China’s gold jewelry demand rose 10% while India’s fell 6%. Chinese bar and coin investments, meanwhile, surged 28%.

Although China mines more gold than any other country, it still needs to import a lot and the quantities are getting larger. In the last two years, overseas purchases totaled over 2,800 tonnes — more than all of the metal that backs exchange-traded funds around the world, or about a third of the stockpiles held by the US Federal Reserve.

Over the first two months of the year are 53% higher than they were in 2023.

The People’s Bank of China has been on a buying spree for 17 straight months.

The influx of money into Gold ETFs in China has totalled US$1.3 billion so far this year, compared with US$4 billion in outflows from funds overseas.