Gold ETPs see largest inflows in two years as Ukraine risks fail to dissipate

Last week marked the fifth consecutive week of net inflows into long gold ETPs, with monthly flows the highest in two years as European investors’ watch Russia’s continued meddling in the Ukraine with trepidation. Meanwhile flows into long oil ETPs reached their highest in eight weeks as falling oil prices and continued high political risk in the Middle East attracted investors. Although at the end of last week Russian President Putin offered dovish rhetoric to seek a peaceful resolution in Ukraine and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki agreed to step down in a move that could de-escalate the growing tensions between Shiites and minority Sunnis, significant risks remain. Many see Putin’s offering of an olive branch as disingenuous, while the EU’s debate on arming Kurds highlights that the conflict in Iraq is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

ETF Securities physical gold ETPs saw US$75.5mn of inflows last week, bringing the trailing 4 week total to US$282.6mn, the highest since August 2012. Continuing the trend of the past five weeks, haven demand for gold has surged despite the price only gaining 0.6% in the past month. Investors appear to believe that a number of tail risks are becoming increasing less remote and are seeking hedges. The conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and Libya combined with the returning debt problems in Argentina and lacklustr growth in Europe appear to be causing investors to re-assess (or at least hedge) their risky asset allocations.

Long oil ETP inflows rise to US$41.7mn, the highest in eight weeks as lower prices continue to attract investors. While long Brent ETPs have seen 10 consecutive weeks of inflows, long WTI ETPs are now starting to receive interest with US$11.9mn flowing in last week to add to the US$2.1mn the week before. The WTI benchmark slipped 5% over the past month, despite numerous conflicts in oil exporting countries still raging. Investors have been buying into the recent price dip as supply could tighten quickly if these conflicts remain unresolved for too long. Flows into Brent ETPs rose to US$29.8mn, as many perceive this benchmark to react more strongly to non-US geopolitical events.

Inflows into ETFS Daily Leveraged Silver (LSIL) reach 12 week high. Investors bought US$5.0mn of leveraged exposure to silver as the price dipped 1% last week and 6% over the month. With the price of gold and silver having moved in opposite directions in recent weeks, tactical investors have been buying silver in hope of rebound. The medium term price fundamentals look strong. The Silver Institute suggests that silver demand is expected to grow at around 5% per annum between 2014 and 2016, higher than the rate of global growth. Accordingly, we feel that silver’s structural industrial prospects are bright, especially from the electronics and electrical sector.

Weak loan and money supply growth in China set a bearish tone for industrial metals last week. With demand for industrial metals highly sensitive to growth in China, the disappointing loan data from China spooked a number of investors and they withdrew US$5.9mn from ETFS Zinc (ZINC). However, we believe that mine closures and rising demand will drive the next leg of a bull market in zinc to US$2510/tonne from US$2265/tonne currently.

Key events to watch this week. With the Federal Reserve getting closer to finishing its bond-buying programme, investors will be focused on the minutes from its recent meeting to gauge just how quickly the central bank intends to tighten thereafter.