The West sells out of its gold as prices fall, while the East buys up taking it as a buying opportunity
In the April to June period, the price of the precious metal went from US$1,598/ounce to US$1,192. That is a huge fall, one where prices were down 25%.
In New Zealand currency, the decline was from NZ$1,912/ounce to NZ$1,541, also a precipitous drop of 19%.
These price falls were a key drama, and perhaps the selldowns by ETF funds were another, driven by hedge funds and other speculative investors continuing to exit their positions.
Certainly the pullback by central banks from their aggressive buying was another. Both reactions can be seen as expected in the face of the price falls.
But a third and somewhat unexpected drama over the period was the sharp increase in buying by individuals.