More Stories

Informist, Friday, Apr. 11, 2025

MUMBAI – Gold prices in the London over the counter bullion market rose by 17.8% in the first quarter of 2025 as uncertainty around the US's trade policy under President Donald Trump's administration, possibility of a trade war, and ongoing geopolitical issues led to continued investment in the safe-haven asset, the London Bullion Market Association said in a report titled 'Gold 2025, an Unprecedented First Quarter'.

Even though soaring gold prices slowed demand in some Asian markets, several global central banks were active buyers during the Jan-Mar quarter. Global central banks bought net 24 tonnes of gold in February, led by Poland, the People's Bank of China, Turkey, and the Czech Republic, the association said, citing a report by the World Gold Council.

"The strong upward momentum exhibited by the gold price in February and March appeared to catch a number of analysts and commentators off guard," the association said. A survey of professional analysts by the association pegged average price of gold for the year at $2,736.69 an ounce, around 14.7% higher than the 2024 average.

During the quarter, gold prices in the London market hit an all-time high of $3,120.2 per ounce on Mar. 31.

Meanwhile, there was a rush to build physical gold and silver inventories in New York as market participants began to take the threat of trade tariffs seriously. "Since the US election, 393 tonnes of gold have been moved into COMEX vaults, increasing inventories there by nearly 75% to their highest level since August 2022. Additional shipments are believed to have gone to private vaults owned by HSBC and JPMorgan," Financial Times was quoted in the report as having said.

This, coupled with pressure on physical metal deliveries, tighter lease rates and higher borrowing costs, led to talk about whether gold supplies in London were becoming too low to support trading. The vault figures of January and February showed a decline in the weight of gold held in London, however, this decline was within normal range, the association said.

Similarly, the LBMA London silver price rose 15.52% in the first quarter of the year, "...having been caught up in the same tariff trade that impacted gold during later January and through February," it said. "So, silver's upward momentum slightly lagged that of gold not only during Q1 2025 but also in the 12 months from the beginning of April 2024 to end-March 2025 when the silver price gained 32.44% and gold was up 37.56%," LBMA said.  End

US$1 = INR 86.04

Reported by Ashutosh Pati

Edited by Ashish Shirke

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.