Buyers return to gold ETFs as global uncertainty escalates

Gold ETFs have started seeing inflows for the first time in months, as political turmoil in the Ukraine and weak Chinese data pushed investors into safe havens.

According to data from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, commodities – primarily gold and silver – saw two straight weeks of inflows to 6 March, their longest winning streak since September 2013. By the end of last year, the price of bullion fell below $1,200 per troy ounce, but recovered at the start of this year, and rose further on the back of geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Currently, it is trading at $1,359. Last year’s fall in the gold price caused the rolling six-month correlation between gold and the MSCI World index to break down, suggesting gold offers diversi...