Julius Baer gold ETF holdings rise 2 pct

LONDON Aug 17 (Reuters) - Holdings of Julius Baer's (BAER.VX) gold-backed exchange-traded fund rose 39,200 ounces or 2 percent on Friday, 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 1.889 million ounces by Aug 14, from 1.849 million ounces on Thursday, it said.

ETFs issue securities backed by physical stocks of a given commodity, giving investors exposure to the underlying asset price without having to buy and store it themselves.

(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Peter Blackburn)