Gold Defies Rising Yields with Structural Demand Premium
The gold price remains above $4,000 an ounce despite rising U.S. Treasury yields, which would normally be detrimental to a non-yielding asset like gold.
This resilience is due in part to a structural demand premium tied to reserve diversification and geopolitical hedging, which has become the dominant driver of gold prices beyond traditional macro factors.
Nicky Shiels, metals strategist at MKS PAMP, estimates that this premium rose from about $120 an ounce before 2022 to an average of more than $1,000 since then, currently standing at roughly $840 an ounce.
China's gold imports reached 1,077 metric tons in the first eight months of 2026, annualising to an 11-year high, while Poland's central bank continues to add to its reserves at a pace above last year's.