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Central bank buying and ETF inflows boosted H1 demand:   Gold demand was 1,123t in Q2, up 8% y-o-y. H1 demand jumped to a three-year high of 2,181.7t, largely due to record-breaking central bank purchases. Central bank buying and healthy ETF inflows were the driving forces behind gold demand throughout the first half of 2019. Growth in H1 jewellery demand was largely the product of a more positive environment for Indian consumers. Shifts in bar and coin investment were very much price-related: as the gold price powered its way to multi-year highs, profit-taking kicked in and retail investment all but dried up. The technology sector reduced its usage of gold due to challenging global conditions, although the outlook is for this element of demand to establish something of a floor over coming quarters. Solid growth in both mine production and recycling fed into a 2% increase in total H1 gold supply. WGC

 Central banks invest in gold for many reasons. There are well known reasons such as - gold’s role as a safe haven asset and - an effective portfolio diversifier. But the survey results also reveal that there are other important reasons relevant to central banks, such as - gold’s ability to improve risk-adjusted returns and - its use as valuable collateral both of which were viewed as relevant by 71% of central banks.  moreover, - Low U.S. interest rates, - the Trump administration’s unpredictable combativeness and - insatiable appetite for debt, and - geopolitical tensions. These central bank buyers are predominantly from countries that stand in direct economic or political opposition to the U.S., and so are keen to move away from the U.S. dollar as a foreign reserve currency. are making gold look like a safer asset than U.S. debt instruments . A few more years of this, and it’s possible that more countries’ international reserves will be s...