Core Viewpoint - The structure of surface gold inventory shows that while financial demand has a small share, it exhibits significant volatility, dominating the trend changes in gold prices. Non-financial demand, despite its larger share, primarily provides support without determining the trend [1][4]. Group 1: Investor Profile and Demand Structure - The gold market participants can be categorized into two main types: financial investment participants and non-financial investment participants. The former drives the trend of gold prices, while the latter provides bottom support [5][7]. - Financial demand is characterized by high volatility, with financial instruments (such as ETFs and futures) showing more than double the volatility of net consumption (jewelry and technology gold) since 2000, although their accumulation speed is lower [7][8]. - Non-financial investment participants mainly contribute to private sector consumption demand (jewelry and technology gold) and long-term holdings (coins and bars), which tend to have limited volatility in fund flows [11][12]. Group 2: Recent Trends in Gold Prices - Since late August, gold prices have broken out of a consolidation pattern, with financial investment participants (particularly the ETF market) driving the new highs [13]. - Financial tools (ETFs) have seen a rebound in fund inflows, with total holdings rebounding but still 6% lower than the peak in Q4 2020 [14]. - Central bank gold purchases have slowed but remain a significant support, with Q2 purchases at 166 tons, down 33% from the previous quarter [15]. Group 3: High-Frequency Tracking Dimensions - Three high-frequency tracking dimensions are provided to capture the trends behind gold price movements: 1. **ETF Regional Structure**: Western markets have regained dominance in ETF inflows, reflecting a shift in macro pricing narratives from "de-dollarization" to interest rate paths [19]. 2. **COMEX Gold Futures Positions**: There is a disconnection between COMEX "fast money" positions and gold prices, with current holdings being slightly low relative to price levels [20]. 3. **Regional Price Differences**: The shift from positive to negative premiums in Shanghai gold indicates a cooling of investment in non-Western regions, while the normalization of premiums in New York and London suggests that speculative "hot money" may still be in a wait-and-see mode [21].