South Korean Retail Investors Turn Net Buyers of Gold Amid Price Rebound

South Korean retail investors have turned net buyers of gold for the first time in four months, raising questions about the sustainability of recent price gains.

The KRX gold market saw a total of 133 billion won ($96.3 million) in buying from August 1 through August 14, according to Korea Exchange data.

This marks a significant shift after three consecutive months of net selling, with retail investors having sold 125 billion won ($90.5 million) worth of gold in May, followed by 348 billion won ($252.1 million) in June and 51 billion won ($37.0 million) in July.

The rebound in global gold prices is attributed to weaker US employment data, purchases by central banks, and uncertainty over artificial intelligence investment.

Gold-related exchange-traded funds have also seen increased buying, with retail investors purchasing 37 billion won ($26.8 million) of the ACE KRX Gold Spot ETF and 14 billion won ($10.1 million) of the TIGER KRX Gold Spot ETF from August 1 through August 14.

Jeong Hyun-jong, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, suggests that gold prices will likely continue to fluctuate depending on real interest rates and the dollar's direction.