The spectre of an era of high inflation – which is running at the fastest clip in decades around the world – is sparking stronger demand for gold, with investors and central banks snapping up the precious metals in the first quarter.

Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation, global gold demand (excluding over-the-counter transactions) came in at 1234 tonnes in the first quarter of 2022, up 34 per cent on the same period 12 months ago and 7 per cent up on the recent quarter, according to The World Gold Council (WGC).