February saw global gold ETFs attract $9.4 billion—their strongest month since March 2022 and third consecutive month of growth. North American funds dominated with $6.8 billion in new investments, their best February ever and largest monthly inflow since July 2020. This surge was fueled by physical gold shipments into COMEX vaults, falling Treasury rates, a weaker dollar, and growing stagflation concerns.
Asian investors added $2.3 billion, with China leading despite strong equity markets, as evidenced by gold-related searches hitting their highest level since 2013. Indian inflows remained healthy but below January’s record, while Japanese funds saw their fifth straight month of gains. European ETFs contributed a modest $151 million, with Germany and Switzerland offsetting UK outflows. Australia led other regions with their strongest showing since September. This global demand, alongside gold hitting nine new price records in February, pushed total ETF assets to an all-time high of $306 billion and holdings to 3,353 tonnes—the highest level since mid-2023.