On Dec. 31, 2016, the price of gold stood at 1,156.00. Today, it is knocking on the $1,300 mark. The yellow metal is on track to gain about 12% in 2017, its best year since 2010. Gold has made these gains despite a number headwinds that we would expect to put a significant drag on gold.
Here are seven major themes that have driven gold news over the past year.
Geopolitical risk
Over the last year, we’ve talked a lot about geopolitical risk. Could turmoil around the world now be the new normal?
Some analysts think so.
The focus has primarily been on tensions between the US and North Korea. But there have been plenty of other risk factors popping up around the world, including ongoing uncertainty about Brexit, the secession movement in Catalonia, war in the Middle East, terror attacks, tensions between the US and Russia, various elections, a coup in Zimbabwe, and more. On top of that, outside of the US, a lot of people think Americans should be looking at the geopolitical risks right here at home due to political divisions and uncertainty in Washington D. C.
This post was published at Schiffgold on DECEMBER 29, 2017.