According to gold exchange BullionVault, its clients have now bought back 60% of the 1.2 tonnes sold between April and June, taking their gold holdings above 32.6 tonnes in aggregate.
Although gold ETPs continued to see outflows, BullionVault said that sentiment towards the physical metal is on the up, even if it is still depressed versus last year’s levels and lower than in September 2011, when gold’s price streaked past $1,900 as investors fled for safety.
But in 2013, gold has had a rockier time as the outlook for growth has improved, and as global QE programmes look set to wind down.
ETF Securities said that despite gold’s price stabilising in recent days at around $1,220, ETPs have continued to see outflows, with these totalling $48m from long gold instruments last week alone.
However BullionVault head of research Adrian Ash said that investors’ mood towards gold had clearly softened.
“Last month was the worst November for gold prices since 1978 in dollar terms, and the worst since 1981 in sterling,” Ash pointed out, continuing that against this backdrop BullionVault clients added to their holdings, just like they did after the 2013 price crash.
Ash added: “Our customers were net buyers overall in November…customers starting or adding to their holdings outnumbered those who sold better than two to one.”
Ash acknowledged, however, that the jury was still out on whether investors would be rewarded for stocking up on gold during its decline.
Only yesterday gold futures slid more than 5% as minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting suggested that officials would cut back on their $85bn in monthly bond purchases as the economy strengthened.
