Investors up their gold holdings for 3rd consecutive month amid trade-war risks

Investments • September 2, 2019, 8:10AM EDT

Demand for gold has shot up for the third consecutive month, thanks to the U.S.-China trade war risks and impending rate cuts by central banks around the world.

The yellow metal holdings rose 101.9 tons in August, after the addition of a combined 154.1 tons in June and July, Bloomberg reported Monday. The current total known gold assets stand at 2,453.4 tons.

Gold’s price has risen 19% so far this year to around $1,520 per ounce, as investors have reportedly been shunning risky assets and moving to safer assets such as gold.

Interestingly, bitcoin enthusiasts insist on calling the cryptocurrency a “safe-haven” asset. But according to analysis from The Block’s research analyst Ryan Todd, it is not. Bitcoin has seen an average 12.4% annualized 30-day volatility over the last five years, as compared to gold’s 2.5%.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.