Higher Gold prices may lift scrap Gold supply

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Holdings of gold by exchange-traded funds have risen with gold prices this month, although higher gold prices also could lead to increased scrap supply, said Citi Research. 
Analysts said global ETF inflows have surged over 40 tonnes so far this month after a plateau in January, with large daily builds of around 10.5 tons on February 1 and 7. 
“In light of recent ETF builds, we suspect a similar positive trend in U.S. gold Eagle coins could also emerge this month,” said analysts at Citi.
“However, following the 17% rise in global gold scrap availability…in 2015, per Scrap Register estimates, we caution that further gold price increases could accelerate scrap rates. This in turn could dent fabricator demand for ‘new’ doré in the coming months, especially in Western and Middle Eastern markets,” Citi added.