Private banking services may have seen investor boom for gold

Private banking services professionals who advise clients on robust investments may be interested in the latest GFMS report about gold.

Last year, investor demand for the precious metal surpassed jewellery fabrication, which the report noted was the first time this had occurred since 1980.

Fears over quantitative easing and the uncertainty of financial institutions helped trigger such a demand in gold, chairman of GFMS Philip Klapwijk said.

Furthermore, gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) proved popular at the start of 2009. Private banking services may have seen more requests made by clients keen to discover the part ETFs could play in their investment portfolios.

’The consultancy is quick to stress that there was more to gold in 2009 than investment,’ it said, adding a severe reduction in jewellery consumption occurred because ’of the onset of a global recession in conjunction with still-elevated prices’.

A recent study into white metals by GFMS found last year, gross surplus of platinum stood at 849,000 ounces, marking a 47 per cent increase as 2009 progressed.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19741460-ADNFCR