As the Bank of Korea is known to have invested in gold for the first time in 13 years, attention is ..

U.S. ETF ‘SPDR GOLD TR’ buys 680,000 shares
International gold prices rebound, gold ETFs 7% this month ↑

사진 확대 Gold bars are displayed in a gold and silver shop in downtown Seoul. [News 1]

As the Bank of Korea is known to have invested in gold for the first time in 13 years, attention is also being paid to domestic gold-related exchange-traded funds (ETF). With the recent rebound in international gold prices, domestic gold ETFs have also risen more than 7% this month.

According to the financial investment industry on the 13th, the Bank of Korea announced on the 12th (local time) that it holds 679,765 shares of SPDR GOLD TR, a gold ETF listed on the U.S. stock market. As of the end of the second quarter, the valuation is $250.41 million (about 355 billion won).

It is the first time in 13 years that the Bank of Korea has invested in gold since it purchased 20 tons of real gold in 2013. This time, instead of buying real gold directly, they invested in gold through ETFs.

SPDR GOLD TR, bought by the Bank of Korea, is the world’s largest gold ETF. As of the 11th, net assets amounted to $144.1 billion (about 204 trillion won). It is about 50 times larger than the net assets of ‘ACE KRX Gold Spot’, the largest gold spot ETF in Korea, of KRW 4.925 trillion.

사진 확대 The headquarters of the Bank of Korea. [Yonhap News]

It was not disclosed when the Bank of Korea specifically purchased the ETF. However, it is estimated that it was purchased between April and June, the second quarter, as it was not held at the end of the first quarter of this year.

With the recent rise in international gold prices, domestic gold-related ETFs have also been strong.

ACE KRX gold spot goods rose 7.4% this month until the 12th, while “TIGER KRX gold spot goods” also rose 7.3%. TIGER Gold Futures (H) and KODEX Gold Futures (H) also recorded returns of 7.4% and 7.5%, respectively.

As gold prices rebounded, ETFs related to gold mining companies rose even more. The “HANARO Global Gold Mining Company,” which invests in global gold mining companies, surged 19.1% during the same period.

According to Yonhap Infomax, the spot price of international gold rose 8.9% from $4046.21 an ounce at the end of last month to $4408.08 an ounce on the 12th. However, it is still far below the all-time high of $5598.29, which was recorded on January 29.

It is analyzed that the recent rebound in gold prices was affected by changes in the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. As U.S. employment indicators and consumer price growth slowed in July, expectations are growing that the Federal Reserve System (Fed) is unlikely to raise its key interest rate further next month.

As gold is an asset that does not pay interest, the lower the pressure on interest rates, the higher the investment attractiveness. On top of that, if the dollar continues to weaken, it could be an additional driving force for gold prices.