After the rally that opened 2026, gold prices cooled in Q2, while total demand stayed flat from a year earlier at 1,269 tonnes. The Gold Demand Trends report for Q2 2026, published by the World Gold Council on 30 July 2026, put first-half demand at an estimated 2,522 tonnes, up 2% year-on-year and worth US$380bn.
The flat quarterly total concealed wide differences by sector. Central banks and official institutions remained eager buyers, and over-the-counter investment, especially from Asia, added support. But exchange-traded funds recorded outflows and jewellery purchases weakened as consumers adjusted to prices that, while below their peaks, were still elevated.
Official-sector buying was robust: net reserve purchases reached 289 tonnes in Q2, 62% higher than a year earlier, with stronger buying in a number of countries. The World Gold Council's Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey put the share of respondents planning to increase gold reserves in the year ahead at 45%.
Over-the-counter gold demand came in at 327 tonnes in Q2, helped by Asian investment, and first-half OTC demand reached 571 tonnes.
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Gold bought through ETFs, bars and coins slipped to 262 tonnes in Q2. Gold-backed ETFs had net outflows of 45 tonnes in the quarter, while bar and coin investment was down just 3% year-on-year in Q2. First-half bar and coin buying stayed 21% above the same period a year earlier, lifted by a standout first quarter, while ETF inflows were a modest 18 tonnes.
Elevated prices kept pressuring jewellery in Q2, sending volumes down 17% year-on-year as shoppers purchased less and chose lighter designs. While first-half tonnage was down, the global value of jewellery sales advanced 22% from a year earlier in H1, reaching US$86bn.
Total supply in Q2 was also flat year-on-year at 1,269 tonnes. Estimated mine output increased roughly 2% from a year earlier to 966 tonnes, helped by new projects in Canada and Chile; recycling, however, slipped 6% even with prices high.
Metals Focus lowered its Q1 2026 estimate for central bank gold demand to 57 tonnes from 244 tonnes, reclassifying the 187-tonne gap as OTC and other demand. Even with Q2's pickup, first-half official buying came in under the high marks of recent years because activity was muted in Q1.
Louise Street, Senior Markets Analyst at the World Gold Council, said the early surge in gold prices unwound during Q2, with the market consolidating after a pullback from its highs. The market remained well supported, she said, reflecting gold's role as a diversifier and a store of value. She credited central bank buying and OTC investment for the 2% first-half rise in total demand, even as ETF flows fell back with prices.
Street also said investment should drive demand in the second half, but the mix may shift. OTC activity and Asian buyers are likely to feature more prominently, while ETF interest in Western markets may depend more on real yields, US policy expectations and the dollar. Official institutions are expected to keep buying at a meaningful clip, though perhaps not as quickly as they have during the past four years. High prices will probably keep jewellery volumes soft, and recycling could stay limited because many holders prefer not to sell.
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