Good as gold: World Gold Council outlines record-breaking quarter
Gold is as good as, well, gold. Driven by an uncertain and volatile geopolitical environment, a weakening US dollar, and investors’ fear of missing out, the price reached and surpassed a record high of $4,000 an ounce. The World Gold Council (WGC) released its Q3 2025 Gold Demand Trends report, which found that quarterly gold demand (including OTC) reached $146bn in value terms and was the highest quarter for demand on record.
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Louise Street, senior markets analyst at the WGC, said: “Gold’s climb towards $4,000/oz in the third quarter underscores the strength and persistence of the factors that have been driving demand throughout the year.
“Heightened geopolitical tensions, stubborn inflationary pressures, and uncertainty around global trade policy have all fuelled appetite for safe-haven assets as investors look to build resilience in their portfolios.
“The outlook for gold remains optimistic, as continued US dollar weakness, lower interest rate expectations, and the threat of stagflation could further propel investment demand.
“Gold has set record after record this year, and the current environment suggests there could be more upside gains for gold.
“Our research indicates the market is not yet saturated, and the strategic case to hold gold remains firmly in place.”
In demand
Growth was driven primarily by investment demand, which accelerated in Q3, reaching 537t (+47% y/y) and accounting for 55% of overall net gold demand.
Investors continued to pile into physically backed gold ETFs for a third consecutive quarter, adding a further 222t with global inflows reaching $26bn.
Year-to-date, gold ETFs have added a total of $64bn to their holdings with North American-listed funds leading the charge (346t), followed by European (148t) and Asian funds (118t).
Bar and coin investment rose 17% y/y, totalling 316t, with growth in almost all markets but with significant contributions from India (92t), China (74t).
On the other hand, gold jewellery demand was weighed down by 50 record gold prices this year, seeing a 19% y/y decline in consumption for Q3.
While the two largest consumer markets — India and China — both saw a quarter-on-quarter uplift, largely due to seasonal factors, the y/y picture across both markets remained weak.
Central banks picked up the pace in Q3 with net purchases totalling 220t in the third quarter, up 28% on Q2 and 10% y/y, despite the record-high gold price.
On a year-to-date basis, net buying totalled 634t, trailing behind the exceptional highs of the last three years, but comfortably above pre-2022 levels.
Total gold supply reached a quarterly record of 1,313t, up 3% y/y.
Mine production increased by 2% y/y to 977t while recycling was up 6% y/y at 344t, staying relatively stable given the soaring gold price.