Commodities
Korean Retail Investors Shift Back into Gold Amid Interest Rate Hike Easing
Retail investors in Korea turned net buyers of gold for the first time in four months as prices rebounded. The precious metal's rally was boosted by weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data and consumer price inflation for July, easing concerns over further interest rate hikes.
According to the Korea Exchange, individual investors purchased a net 133 billion won ($94 million) worth of gold on the KRX Gold Market through Aug. 14. This reversal comes after three consecutive months of net selling from May through July.
The buying interest also extended to gold-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with retail investors purchasing a net 37 billion won worth of the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF during the same period.