First Half KRX Gold Market Trading Volume Hits Record High at 37.3 Tons

In the first half of this year, the trading volume of the KRX Gold Market reached 37.3 tons, marking the highest level since the market was established in 2014.

On July 2, Korea Exchange announced the '2025 First Half KRX Gold Market Trends' and revealed these figures. This represents a 4.1-fold increase compared to the same period last year (9.0 tons), and a 1.4-fold increase compared to the total annual trading volume of last year (26.3 tons).

The average price of a 1kg gold bar in the first half of this year was 144,000 won per gram, up 36.7% from the previous year's average of 106,000 won per gram.

By investor type, individuals accounted for 46.9% of trading, institutions and others 34.0%, and physical gold businesses 19.1%. The proportion of individual investors increased by 3.9 percentage points compared to the previous year. The number of gold trading accounts opened by individual investors through securities firms reached 1.45 million, a 10% increase from 1.32 million last year.

In the first half of this year, one ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) and one ETN (Exchange-Traded Note) product investing in KRX Gold Market gold bars were newly listed, which is seen as having improved both accessibility and convenience for investors interested in gold investment.

Korea Exchange stated, "Amid growing global economic uncertainty in the first half of the year, demand for gold as a safe asset increased, leading to significant quantitative growth in the KRX Gold Market. This indicates that many investors perceive the KRX Gold Market as a reliable destination for gold investment."

The KRX Gold Market is the only domestic on-exchange gold spot trading market where gold can be traded like stocks. It offers gold certified by Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation with 99.99% purity (two listed products: 1kg gold and 100g 'mini gold') at reasonable prices. Investors can open a gold spot trading account through securities firms' MTS or HTS platforms, just like with stocks. Investments can be made in small amounts starting from 1 gram, and both capital gains tax and value-added tax are exempted for on-exchange transactions.

The exchange plans to continue promoting the KRX Gold Market through various means, including participation in economic expos, expanding investor-targeted lectures, and media marketing, in order to encourage changes in investor perception and attract new investors.