Investors have piled so much into gold ETFs this year that only the US government has more

• Investors have piled into gold ETFs this year, flocking to the so-called safe-haven asset as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
• Worldwide, holdings in gold ETFs gained to 3,365.6 tons Monday, Bloomberg reported.
• That surpassed the number of tons held by Germany. Only the US government, which holds more than 8,000 tons in its reserves, has more of the commodity.
• Watch gold trade live on Markets Insider.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Investors have piled so much money into gold ETFs this year that only the US government holds more of the precious metal.

On Monday, worldwide holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds gained to 3,365 tons, Bloomberg reported, citing preliminary data. That surpassed the amount of gold that the country of Germany holds, and is second only to the US government, which holds more than 8,000 tons of the commodity in its reserves.

Read more: A Wall Street quant chief breaks down why a COVID-19 vaccine is not the silver bullet investors have been hoping for — and warns another stock-market meltdown is likely

Gold has rallied this year, up more than 31% through Monday's close as the coronavirus pandemic whiplashed global markets and led to high uncertainty for the future. Those gains led to huge inflows for gold ETFs, according to the report.

Going forward, a number of Wall Street analysts expect that the precious metal could surge further and hit new highs. Goldman Sachs thinks that gold could top $2,300, while RBC Capital Markets says there's a 40% chance that the commodity rallies to $3,000, Bloomberg reported.

Investors may choose ETFs over holding the actual metal as the funds allow them to trade the commodity without needing to take physical delivery of it, according to the report.