According to data from the World Gold Council, the most popular Islamic assets have all underperformed when compared to gold, as have the major currencies that are traded in that region of the world. This suggests that Islamic investors will be looking to shift a substantial proportion of their assets into gold products in the hope of more lucrative returns.

Given that this new block of investors can now be unleashed on the gold market, if even a mere 1 percent of the overall value of Islamic investment is allocated to the yellow metal, it would be equivalent to approximately USD 65 billion or 1,700 tonnes of new global demand, nearly double China’s estimated total demand for gold in 2015. Furthermore, given that the global gold demand-supply balance indicates the existence of a small market surplus of less than 200 tonnes at present, the introduction of Islamic investors could dramatically tighten the market, resulting in a hugely bullish outcome for gold prices during the coming years.