Nearly $40bn flowed into gold-backed exchange-traded funds in the first half of the year, topping the previous annual record and highlighting robust investor demand for precious metals during the coronavirus pandemic.

The flood of money into the gold market comes with bullion prices reaching their highest level in nearly nine years. On Wednesday, the most actively traded gold futures inched up 0.6% to $1,820.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up nearly 20% for the year approaching their all-time high of $1,891.90 from August 2011.