Gold demand showed a healthy increase in the third quarter according to a report released by the World Gold Council.

Total gold demand in Q3 stood at 1, 121 tons, an increase of 8% compared to the third quarter of 2014.

Global investment demand helped drive the overall increase. It surged 27% to 230 tons, primarily on the strength of gold bar and gold coin purchases. In the US, bar and coin demand hit the highest total in five years, up a whopping 207% to 33 tons. Gold Eagle coin sales are at the highest level since the financial crisis.

Europe and Asia also saw a healthy increase in investment demand. It grew by 35% in Europe and 70% in China. India saw its first investment sector demand increase since the third quarter of 2014, up 6% to 57 tons.

A report in the Telegraph described China’s investment in gold as a “buying spree” as “investors sought to shelter themselves from further market volatility.”

Central bank gold purchases also boosted overall demand, according to the report:

Central banks remained a significant source of demand, and were net buyers for the 19th consecutive quarter. Purchases by official sector institutions reached 175 tons a level almost matching the record highs in Q3 2014, as the net widened to include new reports from countries such as China and the UAE.”

Gold jewelry demand rose by 38 tons, a 6% year-on-year increase, driving overall consumer demand up a healthy 14%.

World Gold Council head of market intelligence Alistair Hewitt called the demand increase a “global occurrence:”

China and India remain the dominant figures in the global gold market, accounting for close to 45% of total demand. But what was particularly noticeable this quarter is that the consumer response to the price dip was a truly global occurrence. There were significant gains in bar and coin demand in China and across Europe, but it was in the US where we saw the most dramatic growth, with US Mint Eagle sales reaching their highest level since Q2 2010. Global jewelry demand also picked up, in what is traditionally a quiet time of the year for jewelry demand.”