Holdings in global gold-backed ETFs and similar products fell by 49.3t to 2,434t in June, pushing assets under management (AUM) in US dollars down by 2.1% relative to May. Investors seemed to shrug off poor equity market performance and escalating global trade tensions, pushing the gold price down by 4.2% in June.

ETF outflows were dominated by North American funds, losing US$1.9bn in the face of US dollar strength and a declining gold price, while funds listed in Asia and other regions lost US$149mn and US$89mn respectively. Europe saw marginal inflows during the month, with gold holdings increasing fractionally by US$52mn.

• European funds now lead the way, adding US$2.5bn (5.9% AUM) to their holdings and capturing all but a fraction of global net flows y-t-d 
• Asian funds have seen an impressive percentage increase, growing by 15% y-t-d 
• After two months of strong outflows, North American flows are now slightly negative on the year
• A stronger dollar in Q2 and a declining gold price have weighed on ETF holdings, but global AUM remains up 2.7% y-t-d