Gold ETF holdings hit another record in October, even as US funds sold

Investors added to gold ETFs in October even as the price fell. Global physically backed funds attracted US$2.7bn, the fourth consecutive month of inflows, and holdings rose 19 tonnes to a month-end record of 4,275 tonnes, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports.

The dollar value tells a different story. Total assets under management fell 6% to US$542bn, as the WGC puts it, because the lower gold price overshadowed the inflows. More metal, worth less.

Where the money went

As reported by the World Gold Council, with data to 31 October 2026.

That split continues the year’s pattern. The WGC says the first ten months brought US$41bn of inflows and 246 tonnes, the third strongest such period on record, with Europe accounting for 44% of the net inflow and Asia for 45%. It is a contrast with the third quarter, when North American funds posted their first quarterly inflow of 2026.

Less activity elsewhere

ETF buying did not mean a busy market. The WGC says global gold trading volumes fell 13% in October to an average of US$365bn a day, ETF liquidity fell 20%, and net long positions on COMEX fell 94 tonnes to 560 tonnes, the lowest since the end of July. So long-term fund holders were adding while futures traders were cutting.

In context

The WGC’s quarterly report, published on 3 November, counted 211 tonnes of ETF inflows in the third quarter and holdings of 4,256 tonnes at its end. October’s 19 tonnes is a much slower pace than that, though still positive (see Record Q3 gold ETF inflows).

What these figures cannot show is how investors responded to last week’s rebound, because they stop on 31 October, before gold’s gain of about 5% in the week to 6 November. The WGC’s next monthly report will cover that period.

Nothing here is a forecast or advice. The current price is on the gold price page.

Every figure here is as reported by the publications listed under Sources, at the time they reported it. Prices move; the live gold price has the current one. Nothing on this page is investment advice.