North American gold exchange-traded funds recorded outflows of $512 million in October 2026, making the region the only one to lose assets during the month, according to the World Gold Council's Gold ETF Flows report published November 5. The council said US-domiciled funds were the sole driver of the regional decline, while Canadian funds continued to attract inflows.

Globally, gold ETFs added $2.7 billion in October, the fourth consecutive monthly gain. Collective holdings rose 19 tonnes to 4,275 tonnes, a month-end record, while assets under management fell 6 percent to $542 billion, mainly because of a lower gold price. Year-to-date inflows reached $41 billion, the third strongest on record, with holdings up 246 tonnes. Europe added $1.8 billion in October and Asia added $1.3 billion. The council's chart of cumulative flows shows the United Kingdom and mainland China leading year-to-date, with the US among the five largest contributors after recovering from outflows in the middle of the year.

The report linked the US weakness to selling pressure in technology equities and strong safe-haven buying of US Treasuries, which may have diverted investors from gold. It noted that US gold ETFs saw mild net inflows during the last week of October as local equities fell again.

Trading activity also cooled. Exchange-traded gold volumes dropped 25 percent to $140 billion per day, led by a 22 percent decline at COMEX. Total COMEX net longs fell 94 tonnes in October to 560 tonnes, the lowest since the end of July. Global gold ETF liquidity averaged $6 billion per day, down 20 percent from September, primarily because of lower North American activity.

Source: World Gold Council - https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-etfs-holdings-and-flows/2026/11