Gold rose to a six-week high as Chinese ETF inflows and continued People’s Bank of China purchases supported demand, while Bitcoin lagged equities and remained stuck near $64,000.
Gold climbed 2.8% to $4,213 an ounce, its highest level since June 22, as renewed Chinese demand helped extend support for bullion above $4,000. Bloomberg reported that domestic gold-backed exchange-traded funds in China recorded 14 straight days of inflows, even after June saw the worst monthly outflows on record for those products, while year-to-date inflows still totaled 40 billion yuan ($5.6 billion), marking the second-best first half on record. The World Gold Council said demand for gold ETFs remained robust amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty, with the People’s Bank of China’s continued purchases providing a supportive backdrop; the central bank bought 82 tonnes over the 20 months through June. At the same time, Bitcoin remained pinned around $64,000 and underperformed both precious metals and U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 building on record highs. Analysts said a more durable rebound in BTC may require sustained inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, lower U.S. bond yields, no expected Federal Reserve rate hikes, and a return of the Coinbase Premium to positive territory.