(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Even as gold faces significant price pressure as the Iran war drags on, dealers in Singapore are bracing for continued high demand.
The Straits Times reports that bullion dealers, jewelers, and pawn shops report a surge in precious metals buying, and many retailers are boosting inventories to keep up with surging gold sales.
“Items like gold bars, coins and jewelry are among the items being snapped up by local buyers in recent weeks, with some also eyeing silver, they said. Also in the mix are people who want to cash in or trade their older gold items.”
This reveals that bearish gold market sentiment isn’t universal. If you watch gold’s price movement in recent days, you’ll find that it tends to be up modestly during Asian trading hours, with the big selloffs occurring when North American markets open in the morning.
There are also reports that while North American ETFs are shedding gold, Asian gold-backed funds continue to add metals.
Indigo Precious Metals Managing Director David Mitchell said his Singapore store has seen a 100 percent increase in demand so far this year.
“We have seen more buyers than sellers over the past year, but we also are beginning to see more sellers entering the market, which is typical after strong price moves.”
Mitchell said that he plans to maintain a higher “buffer stock” of 100-gram gold bars and 1-ounce coins while “managing premium price risks.” He said this is necessary due to higher demand coupled with stretched fabrication capacity and logistics at gold refineries, particularly in Switzerland, the UK, and Hong Kong.
“In the near term, price action is being driven primarily by geopolitics and interest rate expectations – if the current conflicts expand or key supply routes remain disrupted, the market may remain elevated longer than many expect.”
Silver Bullion founder Gregor Gregersen also reported strong demand. He said gold sales in the 12 months to March 1 were nearly 4.5 times higher than the previous year, with heavy demand concentrated in the first two months of 2026.
He told The Straits Times that he plans to quintuple its gold storage capacity to 2,500 tonnes with the construction of 22 additional vaults at the company’s 180,000-square-foot facility in Changi South.
Gregersen said the January correction drove a surge of buying as investors took advantage of the dip. He reported that “physical demand remains high, even with the price drop since the Iranian conflict kicked off,” but acknowledged, “We have not seen a repeat of the surge that occurred after the January price crash.”
However, Gregersen said he thinks the war is generally bullish for precious metals, even though some investors are tapping into gold’s liquidity as markets lurch through significant volatility.
“Investors may currently be more focused on deleveraging riskier assets amid falling equities rather than adding safe-haven assets such as gold.”
A similar pattern played out in the early days of the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic.
Yeah Lee Ching serves as the managing director of pawnbroker Value Max. She said she’s also seen a “noticeable” increase in gold demand.
“We have been a distributor of the world’s popular investment-grade PAMP Suisse bars for decades, and demand for the iconic ‘Lady Fortuna’ gold bar has been rising steadily since last year,” she said.
Ching indicated that she plans to increase its PAMP Suisse bars “several times more” to cope with the surge in demand.
SK Jewellery Group general manager Angelina Lau noted an increase in people selling old jewelry. However, buyers continue to outnumber sellers.
She also said there was an uptick in trade-ins.
“Some choose to upgrade to newer designs, while others exchange a single heavier piece for multiple items such as gold jewelry or gold collectibles.”
Ching called her customer base “diverse.”
“Investors purchasing investment-grade gold bullion bars increasingly include younger and middle-aged customers who are looking to diversify their portfolios, hedge against inflation, and gain exposure to physical precious metals.”
MoneyMax Financial Services manager Lim Chun Seng noted an influx of younger customers in recent months.
“Transactions include 916 and 999 gold jewelry, as well as investment-grade products such as 9999 gold bars. We have also observed more transactions in smaller jewelry items such as pendants and earrings, reflecting how consumers are adapting their purchases in response to higher gold prices while still maintaining an interest in owning gold.”
Tang Tian Li is one of the Singapore investors snapping up gold. The 30-year-old artist said he started buying gold bars in 2022 as he observed developments in the global economy.
“As new centers of power continue to rise and compete for influence, the reliability of fiat currencies whose values depend largely on government policies and monetary systems appears more fragile than many assume.”
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
