Copyright (c) 2010 Rod Hoss

Investments in gold are on the rise. In the second quarter of 2010, the overall investment in gold more than doubled from the same time frame in 2009. Buyers of gold in ETFs added 291.3 tons of gold to their portfolios in the second quarter. This influx of gold was the second highest ever recorded for a quarter. The new total gold holdings are now 2,041.8 tons with a value of over $81 billion.

The purchasing of physical gold in the form of gold coins and bars was also up 29% in the second quarter over 2009. The net demand for physical gold rose by 67% to a brand new high of over $9 billion. China still stays strong as one of the leaders in gold bullion market. Many experts believe that increasing media coverage over the prices of gold and the poor stock market have been some of the factors that have to led to the increase in demand. With the supply of gold from recycling activity slowed dramatically it took new imports of gold bars to meet the high demand.

Japan tells a different story about the demand for gold where record prices allowed many owners of gold to sell for what would be considered a good profit. Where as in other countries people are still holding their gold supply which is why new imports where need to keep up with the increasing demand.

An example of a country that is hording their gold is Thailand where in Q2 2010 set record levels of physical gold to 27.5 tons making them the 5th largest physical gold investment market for this period. This is a far difference than the give back of 5.2 tons in Q2 2009. The different markets create different opportunities where in Vietnam the high prices around the world for gold encouraged more melting down gold bars to be exported. This was an issue for the United States when it first started minting gold coins as the value was even greater in Europe.

Europe has not been left out with an increase in the demand for gold. With many having serious concerns over the credit ability of many European countries, gold prices and physical gold investment for Q2 2010 saw more growth. Germany led the way with a 59% increase with Switzerland having a nice 19% increase over Q2 of 2009. France was another country where people took advantage in profit taking with the high prices. Concerns over possible increases in the UK's capital gains tax created a shortage in Britannia and gold sovereign coins.

The overall demand of gold in the second quarter of 2010 was positive though different countries take advantage of these economic factors in different ways including selling for a profit, hording for future gains, or melting down for export.