Turkish Gold Contracts Trade at Huge Premiums as Buyers Pile In

A new wave of Turkish gold bugs is driving a widening gap between the price of the physical metal — a long-time investing favorite in the country — and newer digital instruments that track it.

Gold certificates traded on the Borsa Istanbul exchange should in theory follow the price of the 0.01 grams of physical bullion they represent, but rose to a record 21% premium this week, according to local brokerage Gedik Yatirim AS. The cost gap is driven by a surge in investor interest since early March as global trade tensions drive gold prices higher, research analyst Burak Pirlanta said.