Gold loses its shine for ETF investors

Mon July 13 2026

Investors pulled $252 million from gold ETFs in June, its weakest-ever month, as interest rate hikes loom on the horizon.

The bearish flow movements were impacted by rising real yields, a stronger US dollar and fading expectations of any interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The central bank has opted to increase rates three times in February, March and May and is expected to do one more hike yet.

However, while monthly flows were negative, the ETF provider said its Global X Gold Bullion ETF was one of the most popular in the first six months of 2026 with $244 million in outflows.

Gold ETFs available in Australia span physical gold, gold miners and gold bullion and include Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF, Global X Gold Bullion ETF, VanEck Gold Bullion ETF and iShares Physical Gold ETF.

Looking ahead, Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X, said: “With gold now finding support around the US$4,000 level, long-term investors may begin to see this as an attractive opportunity to gradually rebuild positions.

“While bear markets in gold can test investor conviction, history suggests they have often created compelling buying opportunities, with gold delivering an average 12-month forward return of around 22 per cent following an intra-year bear market.

“Long-term demand remains robust, particularly among central banks, with recent surveys showing that 89 per cent of central banks expect global gold reserves to increase over the next 12 months as countries continue to diversify away from traditional reserve assets,” he said.

The trend was mirrored globally as data from the World Gold Council stated physically backed gold ETFs recorded outflows of US$8.9 billion ($12.8 billion) during June as investors withdrew funds across every region.

The WGC attributed the selling to a pullback in gold prices, hawkish signals from the new US Federal Reserve chair and inflation concerns stemming from the US-Iran conflict, which lifted expectations for higher interest rates, increasing the opportunity cost of holding gold.

Despite the monthly retreat, global gold ETF flows remained positive at US$8 billion for the first six months of the year and US$116 million in Australia.

Source: https://www.moneymanagement.com.au