BOJ's decision to lower the overnight call rate to 0-0.1% and to expand asset buying heightened speculations the Fed will announce more QE measures later this year. Weaker-than-expected payrolls data provided further evidence on sluggishness in the US economy and gave policymakers more supports for additional easing. While the dollar might stage a rebound after being dumped so severely, the long-term downtrend remains intact. This is positive for precious metals.

Gold: Holdings in gold ETFs slid for the first time 4 weeks as investors took profits from previous positions. While 6 out of 10 ETFs under our coverage rose during the week, the gains were offset by declines in 3 of the ETFs. SPDR Gold Trust fell -453.55K oz, or -1.08%, to 41.42M oz while the other 2 ETFs -ETFS (Australia) and ETFS (US)- only recorded modest drops. The best performer of the week was iShares Comex Gold Trust which added +49.26K oz, or +1.54%, to its holdings of 3.26M oz. Holdings in Julius Baer Physical Gold Fund also increased +49.00K oz, or +1.78%, to 2.81M oz. Other ETFs reporting gains are ZKB Gold ETF, Gold Bullion Securities, ETFS (London) and New Gold Trust. Total gold holdings slipped -260.61K oz, or -0.39%, to 66.08M oz.

Silver: Capital inflows to silver ETFs remained robust as silver prices surged to a 30-year high. Holdings in Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund jumped +1M oz, or +10.99%, to 10.10M oz. The increase was modestly higher than that recorded by iShares Silver Trust (9.62M oz). ETFS (US) and ZKB Silver ETF also gained +196.58K oz and +98.90K oz respectively. The only ETF showing decline last week was ETFS (London) which lost -35.87K oz, or -0.12%, to 29.85M oz.

Platinum: Rise in platinum holdings moderated with only ETFS (London) showing an increase of +10.54K oz, or +3.10%. This was however, partly offset by a +10.39K oz dip in ETFS (US). The net gain in holdings during the week was +10.39K oz, or +1.03%.

Palladium: Holdings in palladium soared 60.81K oz, or +3.49%, to 1.80M oz as driven by increases in ETFS (US), ETFS (London) and Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund. We believe the sharp increase was a catch-up effect as investors liquidated their palladium holdings over the past few weeks.