 "Investors on gold ETF buying spree amid global stock rout")
Investors embarked on the biggest three-day buying spree in gold-backed exchange traded funds for a year as bullion rallied at the start of 2016 amid a stock-market slump. Holdings in ETFs climbed 19.6 tonnes in the three days through Monday to 1,477.7 tonnes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the largest increase since January 2015.
Assets rebounded from the lowest in almost seven years on January 6. Investors had been selling gold on expectations that US borrowing costs would rise, hurting the metal as it doesn't pay interest. Bullion jumped 4.1 per cent last week for the best performance since August amid a global equity rout spurred by a stock market slump and a weakening currency in China.
"The increase in demand for gold-backed ETFs coincides with the jump in gold prices since the start of the year," Bernard Aw, a strategist at IG Asia Pte, said by e-mail. "A fresh bout of market volatility and risk aversion, coupled with expectations that the Fed may not increase rates as quickly as projected, boosted buying."
Assets rebounded from the lowest in almost seven years on January 6. Investors had been selling gold on expectations that US borrowing costs would rise, hurting the metal as it doesn't pay interest. Bullion jumped 4.1 per cent last week for the best performance since August amid a global equity rout spurred by a stock market slump and a weakening currency in China.
"The increase in demand for gold-backed ETFs coincides with the jump in gold prices since the start of the year," Bernard Aw, a strategist at IG Asia Pte, said by e-mail. "A fresh bout of market volatility and risk aversion, coupled with expectations that the Fed may not increase rates as quickly as projected, boosted buying."