A massive vault has opened in Singapore to meet growing demand for precious metals from the world’s ultra-rich.
The six-storey, 16,700-square-metre vault is designed to store 10,000 tonnes of silver – more than a third of the world’s annual supply – and 500 tonnes of gold, equivalent to almost half of what central banks purchased in 2023. Many customers have already expressed interest in the vault’s services, prompting the plan for further expansion.
Demand for gold is rising amid increasing geopolitical risks. However, the current surge in demand is exceptionally fast, with experts calling it “dazzling”.
Gold prices have hit record highs, topping $2,500 an ounce earlier this week. Over-the-counter gold purchases posted their best second-quarter performance in 25 years. Silver prices have also risen more than 20%. Investors are flocking to gold, fearing instability in major global currencies, including the dollar and euro, due to geopolitical risks.
According to the World Gold Council (WGC), gold reserves in exchange-traded funds (ETF) have grown by 90.4 tonnes since May, equivalent to $7.3 billion. Net investment inflows have been positive for seven of the past eight weeks.
Meanwhile, the WGC has updated its data on gold reserves of countries around the world. The reserves of the leading countries have not changed significantly over the past year, with United States holding the first place with 8,133 tonnes.
Germany, which ranks second, has reserves of 3,352 tonnes. Italy is in third place (2,452 tonnes), followed by France with 2,437 tonnes, and Russia is in fifth place (2,336 tonnes).
Asian giant China is in sixth place with reserves of 2,264 tonnes. Over the year, the country increased its reserves by 2 tons.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
