The yellow metal is supposed to be a haven when stocks are a mess, but it is down about 8% this year
Investors expected sticky inflation to lift gold prices this year. Instead, the opposite happened.
The most actively traded gold contract is on pace to decline for six consecutive months, with a loss of 14% through that period so far. That is a significant drop for an asset that is supposed to be a haven and marks the longest losing streak since September 2018, when prices fell 9.9% over six months.
Gold is prized by investors for its usual stability during times of turmoil. Prices jumped near all-time highs earlier this year, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended markets for stocks and commodities. In early March, gold settled at a 2022 high of $2,069.40 a troy ounce. Now, it is down 8.2% so far this year, on pace for its worst annual performance since 2015.
Stocks are trading lower than they were in early March. The war has dragged on and concerns about inflation have only intensified. But the haven metal has been stuck in a trading range of about $1,650 to $1,800 a troy ounce since June. Gold fell 0.3% on Monday to $1,678.20.
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