Regional price signals
Gold extended its multi-session rally across major regional markets on August 13, 2026, with Indian and global benchmarks confirming the same upward direction even as quoted levels, currencies and measurement bases differed. In India, the price of 24-karat gold of 99.9 per cent purity rose Rs 2,600 to Rs 1,59,800 per 10 grams inclusive of all taxes, compared with the previous session's close of Rs 1,57,200, according to the All India Sarafa Association. Globally, spot gold was trading around $4,400-$4,412.63 per ounce, up about 9% for the month. The Indian ten-day move, from Rs 1,47,400 on August 3 to Rs 1,59,800 on August 13, represents an 8.4% rise of Rs 12,400, while the global move over the same month was framed as a roughly 9% rise. The two regions' price increases describe the same directional conclusion — sustained multi-session gains — but rest on different units, currencies and reference periods reported by their respective sources.
Short-term outlook
Analysts and industry voices point in the same direction, expecting further support for prices, but they disagree on the proximate driver and on what could catalyze the next leg. Investors are positioning ahead of US inflation data, with Gaurav Garg of Lemonn Markets Desk attributing the latest move to safe-haven buying ahead of the release, while persistent geopolitical tensions in West Asia are separately cited as sustaining demand. Praveen Singh of Mirae Asset ShareKhan added that exchange-traded fund holdings have recovered to 97.24 million ounces, their highest since June 24 and more than 1 million ounces above the cycle low of 96.16 million ounces. Separately, Maeil Business reported on August 13 that the return of North American investors, who have so far been passive, is being watched as a potential additional catalyst; analysts there said inflows from that region, if they materialise after Europe and Asia, could add momentum. The shared conclusion across these views is that the rally has further to run; they differ on whether the next trigger is a US inflation print or a shift in North American allocation.
Supply and industrial demand
The supply side of the picture centres on investment flow data rather than mine output, and the regional pattern is one of European and Asian leadership with North American hesitation. According to the World Gold Council, global gold ETFs recorded a net inflow of $3 billion last month, ending a two-month run of net outflows. By region, European gold ETFs absorbed $2 billion, the second-largest monthly net inflow of the year, while Asian gold ETFs drew in $616 million. North American gold ETFs drew just $71 million in net inflows last month, leaving North America as the only region with accumulated net outflows year-to-date. The cross-source conclusion is unambiguous: demand momentum is broad-based outside North America, while the timing of any North American re-entry remains the key uncertainty.
What remains uncertain
Two timing questions are unresolved across the reporting: the next scheduled trigger for US inflation data, which analysts flagged as the proximate driver, is not pinpointed in the sources provided, and whether North American investors will return to gold ETFs at scale is described as an emerging variable rather than a confirmed flow. The Indian reporting and the Korean reporting both rest on data published on August 13, 2026, but they cite different regional frames and different upstream sources (the All India Sarafa Association for Indian prices and Business Insider reporting World Gold Council data for global ETF flows), so the durations and definitions of the rally are not directly identical.
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