The World Gold Council also reported demand for gold slowed in H1.

Demand for gold in the second quarter of this year fell 10 per cent, at 953.4 tonnes, from the same three months of last year, while for the first half of this year it fell 14 per cent, according to figures from the World Gold Council, the industry group.

The group said that year-on-year comparisons were affected by the record exchange-traded fund inflows in 2016. Net central purchases of 176.7 tonnes were also slightly lower in the first half (-3 per cent).

Contrastingly, bar and coin investment was positive, as was jewellery demand, although the latter remains weak for long-term investment.

Investors continued to buy gold-backed ETFs in Q2: global assets under management grew by 56 tonnes. By the end of June, holdings of ETFs had reached 2,313 tonnes, which is worth $92.4 billion.

Away from the dominant Western markets, Chinese ETFs again saw outflows. Holdings of these funds dropped by almost 9 tonnes, more than half of which came from the Hua’an Yifu Gold Fund, which saw its first quarterly decline, the WGC said.