According to the latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC), gold demand in the first quarter (excluding OTC demand) decreased by 5% over the same period to 1,102 tons, due to capital inflows from exchange-traded funds. Gold-backed ETFs continue to flow out. While including the sizable OTC buying activities of investors, total gold demand increased by 3% over the same period to 1,238 tons - the strongest first quarter of the year since 2016.
The first quarter showed no slowdown in central bank gold purchases, with net purchases of 290 tonnes being added to official holdings, only a fraction of which is currently reflected in IMF data.
However, last week Gold is showing an ongoing downtrend. Will gold turn around or break ATH?