NEW YORK: Gold prices steadied on March 31 after a sharp monthly selloff that marked bullion’s worst month since October 2008, underscoring how quickly one of the market’s strongest trades turned lower after its record run earlier this year. Spot gold was around $4,561.68 an ounce on Tuesday, while U.S. gold futures for April traded near $4,590. The metal had climbed above $5,100 in late January and reached an all-time high of $5,181.84 on January 27 before retreating through March.
The pullback came as the U.S. dollar strengthened and expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year faded, reducing support for a non-yielding asset that had surged in 2025. Treasury’s daily yield data showed the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield at 4.34% on March 25, part of a late-March backdrop of firm yields and tighter financial conditions. Those moves weighed on bullion even as geopolitical tensions and inflation concerns remained central to broader commodity and currency markets during the quarter.
Even with the March decline, the latest industry data show gold entered 2026 from a historically strong demand base. The World Gold Council said total gold demand in 2025, including over-the-counter transactions, exceeded 5,000 tonnes for the first time and reached 5,002.3 tonnes. Global gold ETF holdings grew by 801.2 tonnes in 2025, while central bank purchases totaled 863.3 tonnes. The council also said bar and coin demand rose to a 12-year high, indicating broad-based buying across investment channels.
Demand Stays Elevated
Among listed products, SPDR Gold Shares remained one of the largest vehicles for bullion exposure. State Street said GLD had about $152.3 billion in assets under management as of March 30 and a gross expense ratio of 0.40%. The fund, launched in 2004, is designed to track the price of gold and is one of the most heavily used exchange-traded products tied to the metal. Its scale has kept it central to portfolio positioning during both the rally and the subsequent correction.
VanEck Gold Miners ETF, which gives investors exposure to listed mining companies rather than physical bullion, reported a net expense ratio of 0.51% and said the fund seeks to track the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index. Mining shares surged in January as bullion broke above $5,100, then retreated with the broader pullback in precious metals during March. That left both bullion-backed funds and miner-focused products closely tied to the same rapid shift in gold prices over the first quarter.
Miners And Funds In Focus
At the company level, Newmont reported full-year 2025 production of 5.9 million attributable gold ounces, including 5.7 million ounces from its core portfolio, along with 28 million ounces of silver and 135,000 tonnes of copper. The miner also reported gold by-product all-in sustaining costs of $1,358 per ounce and said its board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, payable on March 26. Those figures kept the company in focus as bullion prices reset from January highs.
Taken together, the latest market and official data show a gold trade that has moved from record highs to a sharp correction, while demand, fund scale and miner output remain substantial. Bullion prices are well below their January peak, but global demand totals for 2025, the size of GLD and the operating results of major miners such as Newmont show that gold-related exposure remains deeply embedded across portfolios and public markets as March draws to a close – By Content Syndication Services.