WORLD Gold Council (WGC), which represents producers of the precious metal, is planning to start selling gold exchange-traded funds in India, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The group has previously backed funds traded in New York, Singapore, Mexico and France.

According to exchangetradedgold.com, total gold purchases through exchange-traded funds currently stand at 17.88 million ounces valued at $11.09 billion.

James Burton opines that WGC chief executive officer investors like to buy at home if they can. Which is why plans are on to expand into continental Europe and the Far east. Burton noted, adding that the securities will be similar to the one already introduced in London.

Gold exchange-traded funds allow investors to access the gold market without having to take actual delivery of physical gold. Last year, gold prices reached a 26-year high of $730.40 an ounce in May, partly as investors bought the metal as a hedge against inflation amid record energy prices, but has since slumped almost 16 per cent as oil prices retreated.