GERMAN GOLD BUYING: A Chart You Have To See
Even though the Swiss continue to buy more gold on a per capita basis, German physical gold investment demand is the highest of all Western countries. How much higher? Let’s look at the chart below:
According to the World Gold Council, total German physical gold bar and coin demand during Q1 2015 was 32.2 metric tons (mt), Switzerland ranked second with 13.8 mt and the U.S. came in third at 9.9 mt. Interestingly, German physical gold investment increased 20% compared to the same period last year while U.S. gold coin and bar demand fell 12%. Matter-a-fact, German gold bar and coin purchases (32.2 mt) during the quarter account for more than half of total European demand (61 mt). On the other hand, the British, French and Canadians ranked the lowest in the chart taking the 5th, 6th and 7th spots respectively. What’s even more amusing, total physical gold investment from these three countries is about a tenth of German purchases.
Furthermore, Germans purchased more than three times the physical bar and coin investment than did Americans during the quarter. Now, as I mentioned above, the Swiss still buy the most gold per capita due to their long-term fundamental belief in gold ownership. However, if we compare German buying versus American… this is the result:
Germany population = 80 million (32.2 metric tons)
United States population = 320 million (9.9 metric tons)
Germany is actually buying 12 times more physical gold per capita than the United States.