Gold has experienced a remarkable rally this year, driven by strong safe-haven demand amid U.S. policy uncertainty and escalating geopolitical tensions. This has fueled investments worth billions of dollars in gold ETFs. As of Aug. 15, global gold ETF inflows reached $43.6 billion this year, according to eft.com. With this, 2025 is on track to outpace the record $49.5 billion of inflows set in 2020 (read: Gold Set to Shine Again: ETFs to Tap the Momentum).
North America alone contributed around $24 billion and is on track for its second-strongest annual performance. SPDR Gold Shares GLD was the winner, pulling in $9.6 billion in capital. This was followed by inflows of $6.1 billion for iShares Gold Trust IAU and $4.8 billion for SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust GLDM.
Outside the United States, China led the way with gold ETF inflows of $7.8 billion, followed by the United Kingdom ($2.9 billion), Switzerland ($2.5 billion), Japan & France ($1.2 billion each), and India & Germany ($1.1 billion each).
According to a World Gold Council report, global gold ETFs, backed by physical gold, held a combined total of 3,639 tons at the end of July 2025, marking the largest month-end accumulation since August 2022.
Inside Solid Global Gold Inflows
Uncertain U.S. Policy
President Donald Trump’s tariff uncertainty and geopolitics lured investors to shift to defensive investments. Gold is often used to preserve wealth during financial and political uncertainty and usually does well when other asset classes struggle. Additionally, the inflationary pressure caused by new tariffs will benefit the precious metal's status as a hedge against rising prices.
Weak Dollar & Central Bank Purchase
A weaker dollar and sustained central bank buying also buoyed gold this year. The U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies is down 9.4% so far this year.
The central banks are dominant buyers of gold as they seek to diversify their reserves away from the U.S. dollar. According to a recent survey conducted by the World Gold Council, about 95% of central banks believe their gold reserves will increase over the next 12 months.
Fed Rate Cut Bets
The odds for an interest rate cut increased in recent weeks, given weak labor data and cooling inflation. Markets are betting on September rate cuts with more than 90% probability. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like gold, increasing its attractiveness over fixed-income investments such as bonds (read: 5 ETFs to Benefit if Fed Cuts Rate in September).
ETFs in Focus
SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)
SPDR Gold Trust ETF tracks the price of gold bullion measured in U.S. dollars and kept in London under the custody of HSBC Bank USA. It is an ultra-popular gold ETF with an AUM of $103.5 billion and a heavy volume of about 9.3 million shares a day. SPDR Gold Trust ETF charges 40 bps in fees per year from investors and has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold).
iShares Gold Trust (IAU)
iShares Gold Trust offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of gold bullion. It is backed by physical gold under the custody of JPMorgan Chase Bank in London. iShares Gold Trust charges 25 bps in annual fees. It trades in average daily volumes of 6 million shares and has an AUM of $48.6 billion. IAU has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.
SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM)
SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. It is a slightly modified alternative to the State Street behemoth gold fund GLD and is kept under the custody of ICBC Standard Bank Plc and JPMorgan Chase Bank. SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust is a low-cost choice in the U.S.-listed physically gold-backed ETF space, charging investors 10 bps in annual fees. It has $16.8 billion in AUM and trades in a solid average daily volume of 3 million shares. GLDM has a Zacks ETF Rank #3.
Bottom Line
With Trump’s tariff uncertainty and Fed rate cuts on the table, investor interest in gold ETFs is likely to remain strong in the months ahead.
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SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): ETF Research Reports iShares Gold Trust (IAU): ETF Research Reports SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust (GLDM): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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