As a sign of continued long-term demand for gold by investors, new data suggests people used a recent drop in the price of the yellow metal to make fresh purchases.

Self-directed gold investors added to holdings in November, according to the latest Gold Investor Index from online precious metals exchange BullionVault.

While many clients are in the UK, the data is suggestive of attitudes towards gold more globally – Asian high net worth individuals and families have typically been strong buyers for a variety of reasons, including wealth protection.

BullionVault's index rose for the fourth month running in November, reaching a six-month high of 56.5 from the previous month's level of 56.0. A reading of 50 would indicate a perfect balance of buyers and sellers.

Last Wednesday’s sudden 2 per cent fall saw more than three times as many BullionVault users buy gold as compared with the previous working-week's daily average,” the firm said.

In November, users of the firm’s services added 559 kilos of gold to their holdings (17,790 troy ounces), the second month running of half-a-tonne additions. Total user gold holdings rose to 31.9 tonnes (1.03 million ounces), a new record and 17.2 per cent greater from a year earlier.