IT’S not only the gold price that is setting new records. The fundamentals supporting the gold market, as set out in the World Gold Council’s (WGC) 2025 Gold Demand Trend report, are also reflecting the buoyant conditions for bullion. On the demand side, the WGC figures show that total gold demand exceeded 5,000 tons for the first time in 2025, up 1% for the year. But, given the gold price surge, “this yielded an unprecedented value of $555bn, up 45%”. Net central bank gold demand was a sizeable 863t in 2025, though short of the +1,000t level seen over the preceding three years.