BMO, Commerzbank: gold, silver ETF holdings down so far in 2020

Berlin (Jan 15)  Exchange-traded-fund holdings of gold and silver have declined so far in the new year, said Commerzbank and BMO Capital Markets. The ETFs trade like a stock but track the price of the commodity, with metal put into storage to back the shares. Gold ETF holdings have declined for five straight days, BMO reported, adding that they are now down by around 5% from the start of the year. Commerzbank puts the decline so far in 2020 at “just shy of 14 tons.” Meanwhile, BMO said ETF silver holdings are down 1.1% over the same period, equivalent to 6.87 million ounces of outflows. “Despite this, gold prices continue to hold in well at ~$1,550/oz, though silver prices are now back to where they started the year,” BMO said. Commerzbank said silver ETFs tracked by Bloomberg have already decreased by 214 tons since the start of the year. “And yet robust investment demand is necessary in our opinion to absorb the physical supply surplus on the global silver market,” Commerzbank said. “The above-average inflows into silver ETFs that were seen last year are unlikely to be repeated this year.”

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