Private investor appetite for gold fell to its lowest level in nearly four-and-a-half years in June, following a sharp rally in the middle of the month, according to the latest Gold Investor Index from BullionVault.

Private investor appetite for gold fell to its lowest level in nearly four-and-a-half years in June, following a sharp rally in the middle of the month, according to the latest Gold Investor Index from BullionVault.

The index compares the number of BullionVault users adding to their gold holdings over those who reduce them (as a proportion of all gold-owning clients at the start of the month).

The firm said a reading of 50 would signal an equal number of net gold buyers and sellers amongst BullionVault's 50,000 global users (around 89 per cent of the firm's users live in North America or Europe).

"Sentiment towards gold amongst the investing public has scarcely been lower since the metal began making headlines during the financial crisis. Last month's price jump through $1300 per ounce deterred new buyers and also saw a sharp rise in the number of sellers,” said Adrian Ash, head of research for the firm in London.

"While the ratio of buyers to sellers fell from the last 12 month's average of 1.9 to just 1.4 however, overall client holdings rose by weight...The growing number of sellers were outweighed by larger investors choosing to grow their holdings,” Ash said.

Total client gold holdings at BullionVault ended June 2014 weighing 32.8 tonnes, up 98 kilograms from May, while silver bullion holdings reached a new record high of 462 tonnes.

Gold prices hit $1329.00 an ounce on 30 June, the highest in three months, following geopolitical tensions in Iraq and Ukraine which helped to boost its safe-haven appeal (source: BullionVault).