Gold Market Expansion Hinges on Weekend Trading Access
The gold market has undergone significant changes in recent years, with prices reaching record highs and institutional demand increasing. Despite this growth, access to the metal remains largely governed by traditional trading schedules established decades ago.
The launch of GOLD247 by TradeQuo has brought weekend gold trading into focus, sparking a debate about whether the market should be constrained by these traditional hours. This comes as central banks have emerged as one of the market's most important structural demand drivers, purchasing 1,045 tons of gold in 2024.
Analysts argue that gold remains surprisingly under-owned, with major U.S. gold ETFs collectively holding approximately $219 billion worth of gold, representing only about one-third of one percent of equity market value. If institutional and retail investors were to increase their average gold allocations from 0.3% toward 1%, the resulting inflows could represent hundreds of billions of dollars in additional demand.
The AI revolution is also creating new demand for gold, as engineers continue to rely on it in applications where reliability is critical due to its highly conductive and resistant properties. This secondary gold demand through supporting infrastructure for AI data centers is built gradually but will add up as the industry expands.