Institutional investors buy gold despite bearish chart setup
Global asset managers including Amundi, Pictet, Robeco and Fidelity International are adding to gold holdings as physically backed ETFs drew $3 billion in July inflows and central-bank buying slowed.
Gold’s move from a record $5,600 in January to below $4,000 in July has created buying opportunities for global asset managers. The decline, linked in the source to higher energy prices and inflation shocks from the Iran war, removed speculative capital and drew in long-term holders even as Treasury yields rose and bets grew on a Federal Reserve rate hike before year-end. Michael Cuggino, president of the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds, said the drop to $4,000 was a good time to buy for investors without an existing position. He said the long-term macro case remains intact and remains bullish for gold.
De Nederlandsche Bank told Euronews it moved 86 tons of gold out of New York and Ottawa, citing increasing geopolitical unrest. 1%. 8% remains in the Netherlands, and the bank said London-held gold is easier to trade and quickest to deploy in a crisis situation. "Assume that we will never need to deploy the gold, but it is nevertheless necessary to strengthen our resilience and preparedness," DNB President Olaf Sleijpen said.
2 billion at the end of 2025. A World Gold Council survey found 9% of central banks plan to diversify overseas storage locations over the next 12 months, up from 2% in 2025, while 7% intend to expand domestic storage. Venezuela has requested the return of about $4 billion of gold from the Bank of England, and the Bank of Korea disclosed its first gold allocation in 13 years, saying it plans to buy domestically refined bullion. Official buying is normalizing.
WGC data show net central-bank purchases fell 54% to 23 tons in July from 51 tons in June, led by China at 20 tons and Poland at 13 tons. Poland has added 90 tons this year, lifting reserves to 640 tons, while China has bought for 21 consecutive months. The debasement trade is returning as institutional investors fill the gap. Funds’ net-long position tracked by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rose in the week ended Aug.
25 to its highest level this year. Lorenzo Portelli, head of cross-asset strategy at the Amundi Investment Institute, said gold is an asset that the firm considers cheap, a good hedge and reasonably liquid. Global physically backed ETFs drew $3 billion in net inflows in July, reversing two months of outflows and lifting holdings by 23 tons to 4,068 tons, led by European-listed funds. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio urged investors to put as much as 15% of their money in gold to hedge against a US debt crisis, as long-term Treasury yields hit multiyear highs.
The technical outlook still points to more downside for gold. The August rally has arguably formed a head-and-shoulders pattern, with a neckline around $4,300 and the pattern’s height at about $400. A decisive break of $4,300 risks a decline to around $3,900, below July’s low and a level that would test the resolve of recent buyers.