January gold ETF flows surge on European demand

Flows into gold ETFs totalled $3.04 billion in January, more than tripling the total global flows seen the previous month. European gold ETFs accounted for more than the global net total, though, as North America posted $500 million of outflows.

ETFs are a popular means of investing in gold, and flows in and out of these products can often give a sense of which markets and events are driving gold demand.

Gold prices hit record highs during 2024, gaining 29.3% and outperforming many of the major stock market indices in the process. The yellow metal has gone on to bigger and brighter things already in 2025, peaking at just under $2,940 per troy ounce on 11 February.

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January this year marked the second consecutive month of positive gold ETF flows, according to data from the World Gold Council.

Gold funds registered a net $3.4 billion inflows during the whole of 2024, bringing total assets under management (AUM) to $271 billion – the highest they have ever been. 2025 has got off to a positive start, with physically-backed gold ETFs adding $3 billion of assets in January.

There has historically been a close link between gold ETF flows and the gold price. Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault, tells MoneyWeek: "ETFs have played a huge role in gold’s long-term bull market so far this century, helping make it the best-performing asset bar none of the past 25 years."

Regional gold ETF flows

The strongest demand came from Europe, in particular the UK, which saw $1.57 billion of fund flows during January – the largest of any individual country – and Germany, which came second with flows of $1.17 billion. European gold ETFs as a whole registered fund flows of $3.42 billion during the month.

Having been a major driver of 2024’s gold rally, Asian fund flows fell back from $748 million in December to $57 million. There was some variation within the region: Indian funds posted record inflows of $400 million during the month, but China, which had been a key driver of flows last month, saw nearly the same level of outflows.

North America posted its second consecutive month of gold ETF outflows, with president Trump’s inauguration reversing a trend of positive flows that had kicked off the month. In total, $499 million of funds flowed out of North American gold ETFs in January.

Source: World Gold Council

Which gold ETFs saw the largest inflows?

The gold ETs that saw the biggest positive flows during January were:

Source: World Gold Council

The iShares Physical Gold ETC (LON:SGLN) saw the largest inflows during January, underscoring the extent of investor demand in the UK.

Three of the top ten ETFs for January inflows were UK-based, along with three from Germany and two from Switzerland. Only one US gold ETF made the top ten.

Which gold ETFs saw the largest outflows?

At the other end of the scale, these gold ETFs saw the largest outflows:

Source: World Gold Council

Three of the top ten ETFs for January outflows were based in mainland China, though the fund that registered the largest outflows in the month was the US’ SPDR Gold Shares ETF.