German investors have piled into gold bars and
coins in the first quarter of the year as a hedge against European
Central Bank policy and the threat of a Greek default bringing down the eurozone.
Latest figures from the World Gold Council show that Germans increased
their buying of gold coins and bars of bullion by 20pc to 32.2 tonnes in
the last quarter, the highest rate of purchases seen in a year.
The strong buying of gold
- which is traditionally seen by investors as a safe-haven asset - was
seen across Europe amid growing uncertainty over central bank policy and
the standoff between Athens and its creditors.
"This was the strongest start in Europe for gold coins and bars that we
have seen since 2011," Alistair Hewitt, head of market intelligence at
the World Gold Council told The Telegraph. "German investors are
fretting over the ECB, Greece and Ukraine."
On the wider market, the World Gold Council revealed that total demand
in the first quarter fell 1pc to 1,079 tonnes compared with the same
period last year.
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