Gold exchange-traded funds in India recorded unprecedented net inflows of ₹24,040 crore in January 2026, continuing their eighth consecutive month of positive flows, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid equity market turbulence and attractive returns from precious metals.

The inflows into gold ETFs exceeded those into the entire equity segment during the month, according to Varun Gupta, CEO of Groww Mutual Fund. “Gold ETFs, with AUM rising nearly 50 per cent and monthly inflows exceeding those into the entire equity segment, pointing to the increasing financialisation of gold as an investment asset,” he said.

Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director and Chief Business Officer at Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company, noted the shift in investor allocation. “Equity flows continue to be positive with over ₹25,000 crore and a marginal dip compared to December; SIP remain healthy at ₹31,000 crore. Highlight with no surprise have been flows in Gold and Silver ETFs and Index Funds with record flows of ₹24,000 crore. Investors have diversified their incremental flows from equities into precious metals given the return profile over recent times,” he said.

The surge in precious metal allocations comes as global markets experienced mixed signals. Softer retail sales in the United States signalled cooling consumption, pulling yields lower and boosting gold and silver prices while strengthening expectations of possible Federal Reserve rate cuts. COMEX gold traded at $5,067.30, up $36.30, while silver stood at $81.13, gaining $0.74.

On the technical front, Aamir Makda, Commodity & Currency Analyst at Choice Broking, observed divergent trends between gold and silver ETFs. “Most of Gold and Silver ETFs in Indian market have rebounded after its recent fall from their all-time high levels. Gold ETFs have rebounded to 50 per cent of Fib. Retracement level of its recent fall and consolidating since past couple of sessions,” he said. “Since Gold price in India is holding its breadth over 1,50,000 level, we may expect Sideways-to-Bullish momentum in Gold ETFs.”

However, silver ETFs showed weaker performance. “Unlike Gold ETFs, most of ETFs have not rebounded much after a fall. Looking at technical charts of most of Silver ETFs, we can observe that prices have rebounded to 23 per cent of Fib. Retracement level so far. At current condition, Silver ETFs may remain sluggish in its moderately bullish trend,” Makda said.

MCX gold futures are currently trading near ₹1,57,800 after consolidating from all-time highs around ₹1,80,000–₹1,81,000, while MCX silver futures are near ₹2,59,000 following a steep correction from highs around ₹4,20,000.

Dr. Vikas Gupta, CEO & Chief Investment Strategist at OmniScience Capital, raised concerns about timing. “Investors continued allocating to Gold ETFs at significantly elevated gold prices which might turn out to be a mistake in the long-term. However, it was heartening to see the large equity allocation going to flexicaps which gives the fund managers the capital to allocate to the mispriced stocks,” he said.

Umesh Sharma, CIO Debt at The Wealth Company Mutual Fund, attributed the gold rally to relative performance. “Gold and multi-asset categories continued to attract strong investor interest, with gold ETFs posting record inflows of ₹24,040 crore in January 2026, driven by the superior one-year performance of gold and silver relative to other major asset classes,” he said.

The broader debt market also witnessed recovery, with debt schemes seeing net inflows of ₹74,827 crore in January, reversing heavy December outflows exceeding ₹1.32 lakh crore.

Published on February 11, 2026