China, Russia and Turkey bought vast amounts of gold via their central banks over the past year to bolster their foreign exchange reserves and diversify against the world’s most popular currency, the US dollar.

Demand for gold jewellery in China has rebounded since lockdowns ended there. And fearful investors seeking safety from the global banking crisis have pumped money into physical gold exchange-traded funds, lifting ETF inflows in March for the first time in 10 months.