Julius Baer gold ETF holdings rise 5 pct

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Holdings of Julius Baer's (BAER.VX) gold-backed exchange-traded fund rose 82,000 ounces or 5 percent in the week to July 22, the bank said in its weekly statement.

The amount of gold the fund holds to back its exchange-traded securities had climbed to a record 1.805 million ounces by Wednesday, from 1.723 million ounces a week before, it said.

ETFs issue securities backed by physical stocks of a given commodity, giving investors exposure to the underlying asset price without having to receive and store it themselves. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by James Jukwey)