Korean Retail Investors Turn Net Buyers of Gold After Prices Rebound

Retail investors turned net buyers of gold for the first time in four months as prices rebounded, according to the Korea Exchange on Monday.

The individual investors purchased a net 133 billion won ($94 million) worth of gold on the KRX Gold Market through Aug. 14, reversing three consecutive months of net selling from May through July.

The buying interest was fueled by gold prices recovering after U.S. employment data and consumer price inflation for July came in weaker than expected, easing concerns over further interest rate hikes.

Analysts pointed out that the Bank of Korea's decision to purchase gold for the first time in 13 years also helped support investor sentiment.