It’s been a scary start to 2016 for global markets and investors are responding by buying more gold than at any time in the past year.

In the past five days, investors bought 26.8 metric tons of bullion through exchange-traded products backed by the metal, the most since January 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold is one of the few commodities doing well, with prices up 2.8 per cent so far this year.

Interest in the precious metal is being driven by demand for a safe haven after losses spread across Chinese and US equity markets and oil collapsed to $30 a barrel.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said on Wednesday that estimates for US economic growth are falling, putting the central bank's projected path for rate increases at risk.

"We're in a relatively good spot for gold," said Simona Gambarini, a commodities analyst at Capital Economics in London.

“While US rate hikes are expected later this year, we believe these will be prompted by a pickup in inflation. There has also been strong gold demand from emerging markets and central banks.”

Bullion for immediate delivery slipped 0.2 per cent to $1,091.09 an ounce by 11am in London.

“The selloff in riskier assets is boosting short-term demand,” Huatai Great Wall Futures said in a note on Thursday.

“We think the Fed will continue its moderate approach to increasing interest rates.”

Not everyone is so optimistic. Prices may drop to about $955 in the fourth quarter and average around $1,000 over the full year, Mark Keenan, head of commodities research for Asia at Societe Generale said.

Silver fell 0.3 per cent to $14.11 an ounce in London. Platinum was little changed, while palladium slid 0.7 per cent to $482.73 an ounce.

Bloomberg