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Gold bars at a dealer in Munich: Many Germans filled up their safe deposit boxes during the pandemic
Photo: Sven Hoppe/ DPA
According to an industry organization, demand for gold bars and gold coins is higher than it has been in eight years.
The World Gold Council (WGC) announced that it increased by 31 percent to 1180 tons in 2021.
Overall, the interest in the valuable precious metal grew accordingly: The demand for gold - including other areas - rose last year by around ten percent from 3658 to 4021 tons.
The jewelry manufacturers were responsible for a big boost: last year they accounted for 2,200 tons of demand, in the first corona year 2020, demand in this area had collapsed to 1,327 tons, according to the WGC.
In the meantime, consumers, possibly driven by fears of inflation, are increasingly buying jewelry again.
Gold price at more than 1600 euros per troy ounce
Central bank purchases also drove global demand.
In this area, it grew from 254 to 463 tons.
According to the association, the central banks increased their global reserves to almost a 30-year high in the second year of the pandemic.
In the technology sector, on the other hand, gold demand rose by nine percent to 330 tons in 2021.
The strong increase in demand also has an impact on the price of gold.
The precious metal, which many consider a crisis-proof currency, has recently gone up again – to more than $1,600 a troy ounce.
On the other hand, demand for gold ETFs, i.e. exchange-traded gold funds, and for similar products fell significantly.
After 874 tons of this was still in demand in 2020, it was only 173 tons in 2021.
Demand is driven by fears of a crisis.
However, an investment in gold is not without risk - if only because the precious metal pays neither interest nor dividends and in the long term has only brought half as much return as shares.
Gold investors hope for value stability - and gold is particularly popular among Germans.
According to experts, it is the country with the greatest affinity for gold in terms of population size.
Apr
