While Americans have been buying up gold bars at Costco with enthusiasm, global demand for gold fell in the third quarter compared to last year, a report from the World Gold Council earlier this week showed.

Excluding 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, global net purchases of gold totaled 1,147 tons in the third quarter, a 6% decline from thꦓe record set in the same quarter last year. Despite the decline, gold demand remained a comfortable 8% above its five-year average, and was up 6% when including OTC transactions and stock flows.

Looking at specific categories, jewelry purchases declined 2% to 516 tons, the World Gold Council said, noting the continued strength of gold prices. Global inves༒tment in bars and coins dropped 14% to 296 tons, led mostly by🧸 a sharp decline in Europe. Gold ETFs saw their sixth consecutive quarter of outflows, as holdings fell by 139 tons.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Central banks around the world purchased 337 tons of gold in the thir🔯d quarter, which marked the third-strongest quarterly gain of all time, though it was down 27% from the record bought in the same quarter last year. Net purchases by central banks so far thi൲s year are at their highest level for a nine-month period and up 14% versus the same period of 2022.

Gold is considered a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, particularly as a hedge against inflation. Last year, amid the highest inflation in four decades, rising geopolitical uncertainty after Russia invaded Ukraine, and the looming threat of a global 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:recession, demand for gold rose to its highest in more than a decade, as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:institutional and retail investors alike ramped up their purchases of the yellow metal.

The price of gold on Friday traded just under $2,000 per ounce—its highest since May—rallying on lower treasury yields and a weaker dollar after today's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:nonfarm payrolls report showed U.S. employers added 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:feweꩲr jobs than expected in October. Prices have rallied almost 10% from a recent low of $1,820 per ounce on Oct. 5, and are up a similar amount so far this year.