Global gold ETFs draw $3 billion in July as Europe leads rebound

Global physically backed gold ETFs attracted $3 billion in July, their strongest monthly intake since April, reversing $2 billion of withdrawals in May and $8.9 billion in June, according to the World Gold Council. The buying lifted total holdings by 23 tonnes to 4,068 tonnes and raised assets under management 1% from $526 billion to $530 billion, leaving holdings 108 tonnes below the 4,176-tonne record reached on February 27. Europe led the rebound with about $2 billion of inflows, including $875 million into UK-listed funds and $657 million into Swiss products, while Asian funds added $616 million and North American funds posted a modest $71 million gain but remained the only major region in net outflows for 2026 by July 31. Year-to-date inflows reached $11 billion through July, equal to a 39-tonne increase in holdings, with Asian-listed funds contributing the most over that period, followed by Europe. Gold rose about 2% in July to end a four-month losing streak, and prices extended higher after a US jobs report showed payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, reducing near-term expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes. The World Gold Council said investors were drawn back near lower prices around $4,000 an ounce, while technology-sector volatility, policy uncertainty and US-Iran tensions supported diversification and hedging demand. The July intake also contrasted with $172.4 million of net inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs over the month, though the two markets are not directly comparable because the gold data covers global physically backed funds while the Bitcoin figure reflects US-listed spot products only.