Since the start of 2016, assets in European gold-backed exchange-traded products (ETPs) have grown rapidly, hitting a record high of 1 121.4 t ($48-billion) in the first quarter of this year, the World Gold Council (WGC) reported on Wednesday. Since their emergence in 2003, gold-backed ETPs have “transformed” the European gold investment market, the WGC noted, adding that, at the end of 2012, when the gold price hit a record high around €1 400/oz, assets under management (AUM) were just shy of 1 000 t (about $50-billion).
