Gold outperforms other assets with 26% returns in H1 2025

Here’s a quiz question you must answer without Googling: Which asset class yielded the highest returns in H1 2025? Gold. Returns on gold in the Indian currency between January and June this year were 26%. That was bettered only by gold purchases in the Turkish Lira—at 41%—World Gold Council (WGC) data showed.

DEMAND DYNAMICS

• China is one of the largest consumers of gold
• Consumers in China and India base buying decisions on local price of gold
• Regional prices often deviate from the international price, reflecting local dynamics in those markets, experts said

OUTLOOK

• Second half is mixed
• Falling interest rates and continued uncertainty would maintain investor appetite, particularly via gold ETFs and OTC transactions
• Central bank demand likely to remain robust in 2025, moderating from its previous records
• Demand likely to stay well above the pre-2022 average of 500-600 tonnes, the WGC report said
• Elevated gold prices likely to continue to curb consumer demand & potentially encourage recycling
• This would act as a dampener to gold performance