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December capped off a booming year as gold ETFs charted the highest level of gold inflows in dollar terms on record. 

The gold price set new records 53 times in 2025. That drove investors to pour an unprecedented amount of capital into gold-backed funds.

In value terms, $89 billion in gold flowed into gold ETFs, as metal holdings surged to a record 4,025 tonnes, the highest level since the pandemic.

December was the seventh straight month of gold inflows into ETFs. All regions reported increases in gold holdings totaling a net of 76.7 tonnes valued at $10 billion. During the period, assets under management (AUM) by gold-backed funds rose 5 percent to $559 billion.

North American funds led the way in December, adding 45.4 tonnes of gold, valued at $6 billion, to their holdings. According to the World Gold Council, expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts and the sudden pivot to quantitative easing, along with safe-haven demand, drove ETF investment.

“Geopolitical tensions involving U.S. relations with Venezuela and Nigeria added to safe haven buying. And concerns over an AI-driven equity bubble and related volatility sustained interest in gold, an asset with low correlation to stocks.”

North American funds only charted two months of gold outflows last year. They added 445.6 tonnes of gold valued at $51 billion over the course of the year, accounting for over half the global total. 

European funds added 12.2 tonnes of gold totaling $1 billion in December. That brought the 2025 total to 131.4 tonnes. It was the first year of net gold inflows for European funds since 2022.

Safe-haven buying as negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine stalled drove European gold investment last month. Gold price strength is also attracting European investors.

Asian funds expended their gold holdings for the fourth straight month in December, adding 17.3 tonnes of metal valued at $2.5 billion. 

Indian funds led the charge, charting their largest gold inflows on record. Investors in China and Japan also continued adding gold to their portfolios.

Chinese VAT policy changes may have also contributed to the increase in investor interest in gold in that country. According to the WGC, jewelry buyers with investment motives turned to gold ETFs to avoid additional taxes. 

The World Gold Council called it an “unprecedented” year for Asian gold-backed funds. The $25 billion increase in ETF gold holdings was greater than total inflows between 2007 and 2024 combined.

Funds in other regions, including Africa and Australia, reported gold inflows of 1.9 tonnes, pushing the yearly total to 8.9 tonnes. Strong flows in Turkey and Australia led the way. Annual inflows in these regions totaled $902 million, the highest level on record.

ETFs are a convenient way for investors to play the gold market, but owning ETF shares is not the same as holding physical gold.

ETFs are relatively liquid. You can buy or sell an ETF with a couple of mouse clicks. You don’t have to worry about transporting or storing metal. In a nutshell, it allows investors to play the gold market without buying full ounces of metal at the spot price. 

Since you are just buying a number in a computer, you can easily trade your ETF shares for another stock or cash whenever you want, even multiple times on the same day. Many speculative investors take advantage of this liquidity.

But while a gold ETF is a convenient way to play the price of gold on the market, you don’t actually possess any gold. You have paper. And you don’t know for sure that the fund has all the gold either, especially when the fund sees inflows. In such a scenario, there have been difficulties or delays in obtaining physical metal.
 

Gold Trading Volumes

Gold trading volumes set a record in 2025, averaging $357 billion per day. December was even stronger, with a daily average of $410 billion per day.

In tonnage terms, global gold trading volumes averaged a record 3,247 tonnes per day, an 8 percent year-on-year increase.

Over-the-counter trading volumes rose 16 percent month on month in December, averaging $216 billion per day.

Global gold market liquidity hit a record high last year, averaging $361 billion per day. That was up 56 percent from the 2024 average. All segments charted growth:

• OTC activities rose 41 percent to $180 billion per day
• Exchange-traded volumes soared 71 percent to $174 billion per day
• Global gold ETF liquidity more than doubled to $7 billion per day

Total COMEX net longs rose by 15 percent in December, ending the year at 683 tonnes. Money manager net longs increased 18 percent to 395 tonnes.

According to the World Gold Council, “Despite a significant rise in the gold price, money manager net longs were 30 percent lower than their end-2024 level, potentially highlighting room for further growth.”

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