(Yicai) Feb. 13 -- Most of China's gold exchange-traded funds recorded net inflows of over CNY3.9 billion (USD540 million) in the past week as prices of the safe-haven asset continue to rise.

Eighteen of the 20 Chinese gold ETFs had net inflows between Feb. 5 and Feb. 11, according to data from Wind Information. Among them, three had net inflows of over CNY500 million (USD68.6 million) and five of more than CNY100 million, with HuaAn Funds' Gold ETF ranking first with CNY1.13 billion.

Gold prices have been on the surge since the beginning of the year. On Feb. 11, Comex gold futures reached USD2,968 per ounce, and spot gold hit USD2,947.70 per ounce, up more than 10 percent so far this year.

The rate of returns of China's 20 gold ETFs in the seven days ended Feb. 11 exceeded 10 percent, and their rate of returns surpassed 6 percent. Meanwhile, HuaAn Funds' Gold ETF had a return range of 6.26 percent and a scale increase of about CNY1.68 billion in the period.

In January, the net inflow of global physically-backed golf ETFs totaled USD3 billion, showing an overall long sentiment, according to the latest statistics from the World Gold Council.

The sharp rise in gold prices this time was mainly due to the US tariff policy, Xia Yingying, a precious metals analyst at Nanhua Futures, told Yicai. Growing concerns about a possible US tariff on gold imports have prompted a massive intervention of arbitrage funds, pushing up the spread between Comex gold and London gold, she pointed out.

Investors should pay attention to the actual implementation of the US tariff policy and the pullback pressure brought about by the easing of the shortage in the spot market, Xia noted, adding that the Federal Reserve's monetary policies will also affect gold valuation.

Editor: Futura Costaglione