Global gold ETFs saw continued inflows in February: World Gold Council

NEW DELHI: Global gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw continued inflows during February as holdings across all regions grew, data made available by the World Gold Council (WGC) showed.

Investors in Asia in par bought gold ETFs aggressively in February, totalling USD 2.3 billion.

Amid uncertainty in stock markets, wealthy investors are parking their money in gold ETFs rather than buying physical gold. The year 2025 saw a strong interest in gold ETFs, marked by unprecedented inflows by far.

According to the Council, Indian investors maintained healthy gold ETFs inflows, albeit at a reduced pace compared to January’s record levels.
China led the inflows in February, data showed.

“Despite positive equity market sentiment – particularly around AI stocks amid the DeepSeek frenzy – the surging local gold price was attention-grabbing. In fact, the Baidu Search Index of the keyword “gold” rocketed to its highest since 2013,” WGC wrote in its monthly Gold ETF Commentary.
Moving on to Japan, another key market, it saw inflows again— for the fifth consecutive month.

Funds in other regions added USD 159mn, their third consecutive monthly inflow. Australia once again dominated demand–experiencing its strongest month since September 2024–and South Africa also registered gains.

The sustained weakness in the equity markets has also been driving flows into gold ETFs, with investors pulling back from equities in favour of the safe-haven appeal of gold

“We have now seen three consecutive months of strong global inflows which, combined an upward trending gold price, have lifted total assets under management (AUM) to USD 306 billion,” WGC said.

On the contrary, the UK saw mild outflows, while Germany and Switzerland continued to book gains.

A Gold ETF is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims to track the domestic physical gold price. They are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices. (ANI)