Investors’ ‘fear of missing out’ drives gold demand to record high

The value of global demand passed $100bn for the first time in the third quarter of 2024

The volume of global gold demand also rose to a record in the same period, up 5 per cent to 1,313 tonnes. The rush has helped drive the price of the yellow metal up 34 per cent this year and pushed it to a series of record highs, amid concerns about conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, and as central banks diversify away from the US dollar and western economies start cutting interest rates. Gold prices hit a new high on Wednesday of $2,788 a troy ounce. “Professional and institutional investors seemed to suffer a case of fear of missing out as gold’s performance repeatedly hit the headlines,” the WGC said in its quarterly report. This fear of missing out has meant that falls in the price of gold have been shorter and shallower than normal as investors pounce on softer prices. “There’s lots and lots of people looking to buy gold on a dip,” said John Reade, market strategist at the WGC. “A lot of people like gold, they wanted to be in gold, but they didn’t have it [in their portfolio] in the first half of the year, for whatever reason.” Total demand for investments, such as bars, coins or backing for exchange traded funds, more than doubled to reach 364mn tonnes in the third quarter, according to the report. Inflows into gold-backed ETFs hit 94 tonnes, a reversal after nine successive quarters of outflows.