Gold: Physical market still net buyer rather than seller

LONDON (Scrap Monster): With gold below $1,600 an ounce, there has been increasing physical demand from Asia, said Standard Bank in a snippet.

“While Indian demand has been lower than normal, overall we continue to see decent buying interest from the rest of Asia, especially Southeast Asia,” the African bank added.

Standard’s Gold Physical Flow Index has been similar to previous years, but a major difference from 2011 so far is little scrap selling for the year to date even though gold is trading at levels well above this time last year. “Clearly, the physical gold market has adjusted to the higher gold price, with rallies not being sold into as last year,” they continued.

Analyst with Standard Bank added that, “In 2011, our GPFI dropped into negative territory three times between January and May, which indicated that the physical market was a net seller of gold during the price move from $1,300 to $1,500.”

The physical market to provide support rather than resistance or at worst be neutral. However,  buying appetite could be weaker if gold returns above $1,700, the bank concluded.

The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of country's largest financial services groups. It operates in 30 countries around the world, including 17 in Africa. A report by Afriforum confirmed Standard Banks position as having the highest bank charges in the country along with Absa Bank.