North American gold exchange traded funds shed 61 tonnes of holdings across the first half of 2026, the region's weakest first-half performance since 2013, according to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends report for the second quarter.

Physically backed gold ETFs reversed course globally during the quarter, with holdings falling 45 tonnes and cutting the first-half increase to 18 tonnes. The reversal was concentrated in June, when global investors cut holdings by 74 tonnes. Second-quarter outflows totalled 4 billion dollars in value terms, bringing first-half inflows down to 8 billion dollars. Total global assets under management stood at 526 billion dollars at the end of June, with the decline driven mainly by the lower gold price.

The council attributed the North American selling to a pullback in the price alongside hawkish signals from the new Federal Reserve chair, inflation concerns linked to the US-Iran conflict, rising real yields and a stronger dollar. Asia-listed funds added 70 tonnes over the first half, their strongest first half on record, while European-listed funds netted 8 tonnes.

Investment demand excluding over-the-counter transactions fell to 262 tonnes in the second quarter, down 46 percent from a year earlier. Bar and coin buying held near longer-term averages at 307 tonnes, down 3 percent year over year and 36 percent below the first quarter total of 477 tonnes. Elevated prices lifted the value of bar and coin investment to 44.5 billion dollars from 33.3 billion dollars a year earlier. United States bar and coin demand reached 13.8 tonnes, 28 percent higher year over year. Over-the-counter and stock flows totalled 327 tonnes in the quarter.

Source: World Gold Council - https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-q2-2026/investment