Gold - retail vs institutional
Ned
Retail investors sharply increased their demand for gold
bars and coins in the past few months as they struggled to
find a safe place for their money amid the financial
crisis, research shows.
But institutional investors have kept the upper hand,
according to Wednesday's report from the World Gold
Council, a gold mining industry association. Heavy selling
by institutions has more than offset retail buying and
pushed gold prices to their lowest level in more than a
year...
Gold coins and bars provide an easier channel for retail
investors who can't afford OTC or futures trading but can
buy gold through dealers online...
Demand for gold coins rose so sharply in the past few
months that the U.S. Mint, the coin-producing division of
the Treasury Department, had to freeze sales of some of its
gold coins and put a few others under allocations. See
related story http://atu.ca/63a21
Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers, said
demand for gold bars and coins was robust at his firm. But
he also pointed out that some investors, frustrated by
gold's lack of price performance, were recently selling
their gold coins and bars back to dealers.
Gold holdings in ETFs have also been declining recently.
The SPDR Gold Trust held 748.94 tons of gold as of Monday,
down nearly 22 tons from the October record. Prices of the
ETF, which tracks gold prices, have dropped more than 25%
from the March record above $100 a share.
The tussle between retail and institution investors,
however, isn't over, and prices are to remain volatile...