The price of gold, one of the assets considered a refuge in times of crisis, is in an unstoppable upward race, in which it has repeatedly exceeded its records, to the point that it has advanced by more by 30% so far this year.
The golden metal has exceeded the $2,790 per ounceits historic maximum, which at that time represented an annual increase of 35%.
Analysts attribute the rise in gold prices to drop in interest rates by central banks, mainly the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve, to which are added the geopolitical situation and economic uncertainty generated by the presidential elections which will take place on the 5th in the United States.
However, at the end of the week, gold suffered a correction and moved away from its historic recordsomething that could change again next week with the US elections.
If during this year the price of an ounce of gold rose from $2,058.96 on January 2 to the $2,790 it reached this week, which represents a increase of almost 35%over the past 15 years the increase has been 150%.
If on December 31, 2009 the price of an ounce was at $1,096.95, it is currently around $2,740.
The half-point cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve at its last meeting and the three cuts made by the ECB this yearthe last two carried out consecutively created the conditions for a skyrocketing price of the gold metal.
Added to these factors are geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty around the American presidential elections.
Gold is considered a active refuge in times of uncertainty because investors believe that its value still holds up better than that of other assets such as stocks, fixed income, currencies or cryptocurrencies.
According to analyst at Swiss private bank Julius Baer Carsten Menke, “the notable rise in gold seems much more driven by market mood than by fundamental factors.
For Menke, even though the risk of a short-term setback in the gold price increases, there is still a solid context in the long term for this metal.
According to him, a further slowdown in the American economy and the prospect of a reduction in interest rates in this country could encourage the market to more investors from the Western world.
In this sense, market analyst Joaquín Robles pointed out that the demand for gold has increased in recent weeks due to the start of interest rate cuts.
Added to this is the uncertainty regarding the American elections, since the possible victory of the Republican Donald Trump, with more protectionist policies and a larger deficit could deteriorate American accounts, leading investors to take refuge in gold.
The advisor of the Alhaja Inversiones fund, Araceli de Frutos, emphasizes that the rise of the golden metal occurs because it is a safe haven asset amid the existing volatility, to which is added the increase in demandmainly driven by central banks which are the main buyers of gold.
Central banks now have the power 12.1% of world gold reservesthe highest level since the 1990s.
De Frutos considers that Bitcoin, unlike gold, is not a safe haven.but rather risky, and creates greater volatility in portfolios. EFECOM
