Gold Investing Trends Higher at Fresh Record Prices
Tuesday, 6/03/2025 16:10
Underlying gold investment price tops new highs...
GOLD INVESTING sentiment continues to trend higher as the 'safe haven' precious metal sets fresh record prices,
says Adrian Ash at world-leading marketplace BullionVault.
Gold in May swung as much as 10.8% below April's all-time high of $3500 per Troy ounce.
But its month-average price rose for the 5th month in a row, gaining 2.2% to set a new record at $3278 per Troy ounce.
Like gold's underlying price, Western gold investing sentiment also rose, with the Gold Investor Index also rose adding 0.7 points to 55.5 in May.
That trend gave the highest reading on
BullionVault's unique measure of investors who chose to buy versus those choosing to sell since February's 28-month high of 56.3, and it pulled the Gold Investor Index's 12-month average up to 54.0, the strongest underlying level since August 2023.
Back then, gold was trading at $1920 per ounce, almost two-fifths (41.4%) below last month's average price.
By weight, investor profit-taking in gold was offset by demand in May.
That contrasted with
April's heavy net liquidation of gold, and it kept the combined holdings of BullionVault users as a group virtually unchanged at 43.7 tonnes, now worth $4.6 billion (£3.4bn, €4.0bn).
The number of new first-time investors eased back by one-third (37.4%) from April's 50-month high, but it held nearly two-thirds (62.8%) above May last year and it was more than one quarter greater (26.5%) than the past 5 years' monthly average, led by the UK (+32.7% from its 5-year monthly average), Germany (+40.3%), Spain (+66.5%) and Ireland (+70.2%).
The United States, however, continued to show relatively weak new investor interest in precious metals, with the number of first-time BullionVault users dropping 44.6% last month from April's 48-month high, down 13.9% versus May 2024 and 16.4% beneath the past 5 years' monthly average.
But the balance of US-resident gold buyers versus sellers on BullionVault rose for a second month running, taking the US-only Gold Investor Index up to 52.7, its highest in 2 years.
So while US exceptionalism appears to extend to the need for portfolio insurance, sentiment towards the precious metal keeps trending higher, albeit from a lower base than among European investors.
Silver's month-average price rallied 1.4% in May, rising back to $32.70 after the more industrially-useful precious metal dropped 2.8% from March's 12.5-year high of $33.18 per Troy ounce amid April's US tariff-policy chaos.
In contrast to
April's heavy net buying of silver, demand for silver was matched almost exactly by investor selling last month, keeping BullionVault clients' combined holdings just above 1,160 tonnes with a value of $1.2 billion (£916m, €1.1bn).
The Silver Investor Index, however, sank to 51.8, down 6.5 points from April's sudden 49-month high. This sharp retreat confirms that bargain-hunting drove April's spike. But as with the Gold Investor Index, sentiment keeps trending upwards, marking higher highs and higher lows as the industrially-useful precious metal's underlying price continues to rise.
On a 12-month basis, silver prices rose in May above $31 per Troy ounce for the first time since New Year 2013.
As for gold, its run of month-average gains has now made the strongest start to any year since 2006, matching the 5-month Covid Crisis run of April-to-August 2020 with the longest unbroken stretch of gains since the 8-month run ending in September 2011, the peak of gold's global financial crisis bullion market.
So while the Trump White House is promoting crypto, the uncertainty and volatility spurred by the President's policies provide the perfect backdrop for fresh gains in gold, making it the best-performing asset of 2025 so far.
That extends gold's market-beating returns across the 21st Century to date, confirming its appeal as a vital portfolio asset.
Email us
