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Qatar National Bank data showed the price of gold advancing from $4,377.30 per ounce the previous Sunday to stand at $4,497.89 on August 20 after the 2.75 percent weekly gain. The same figures indicated silver increased 3.76 percent to $67.14 per ounce from an early-week level of $64.71 while platinum rose 3.17 percent to $1,810.43 from $1,754.71. Qatar News Agency distributed the bank assessment that captured movements across the three metals over the seven-day period.
World Gold Council figures show global gold demand reached a record 5,002 tonnes in 2025 with investment overtaking jewellery as the leading category. The council reported that investment demand jumped 84 percent that year while central banks maintained elevated purchases even as jewellery fabrication softened under higher prices. A subsequent World Gold Council assessment found first-half 2026 demand totalled 2,522 tonnes, up 2 percent from the year-earlier period.[[1]](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-gold-demand-hits-record-high-2025-wgc-says-2026-01-29/)
Countries including Qatar ranked among the more active central-bank gold buyers between 2022 and 2025 as part of strategies to diversify reserves away from traditional currencies, an XTB analysis noted. The same review listed inflation hedging, geopolitical risk and physical consumption among the six primary forces shaping gold prices in recent years. Such purchases have continued into 2026 even with interest rates remaining elevated in major economies.[[2]](https://www.xtb.com/en/education/what-affects-gold-prices-6-key-factors-explained)
J.P. Morgan Global Research analysts forecast gold prices will average $6,000 per ounce by the final quarter of 2026 with the possibility of reaching $6,300 the following year. The bank’s assessment observed that prices had already recorded continuous gains at the start of 2026 before encountering volatility that took them to an intra-year floor near $4,170. Continued safe-haven flows amid economic uncertainty have supported the metal through these swings.[[3]](https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/global-research/commodities/gold-prices)
A World Gold Council report for the second quarter of 2026 placed total demand, including over-the-counter activity, at 1,269 tonnes, leaving the first-half total unchanged from the prior year on a like-for-like basis. Investment is expected to remain the principal growth driver for the remainder of the year, backed by Asian buying and bar-and-coin purchases that rose sharply in early 2026. Central-bank net buying is projected to stay robust although finishing below the 2025 peak.[[4]](https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends)
The Gold Demand Trends series highlighted that first-quarter 2026 demand reached 1,234 tonnes, the strongest such period since 2011, on the back of record central-bank acquisitions. Retail investment in bars and coins climbed more than 40 percent in some readings as buyers responded to temporary price dips and geopolitical concerns. These broader patterns have aligned with the weekly increase registered in Qatar’s domestic market.
