If you own ingots, sovereigns or napoleons, you are the kings of the party. The pancake is yours, without even pulling the bean. A golden pancake on a slice … Gold has, in fact, regained all its luster, to the delight of its hoarders. To the point that they gobble up speculative margins, even more invigorating than a buttery frangipane.
The gold price curve alone illustrates the windfall. A year ago, the price of yellow metal was flat, around $ 1,250 (1,124 euros) an ounce. Despite the ranting of President Donald Trump, gold was snoozing like a hibernating groundhog. Suddenly, in the summer, gold came out of its torpor. The breath of speculation has revived the embers and the yellow metal has melted. In December, it was above $ 1,500 an ounce, ending 2019 by nearly 20%.
2020 got off to a flying start. Judge: Tuesday, January 7, the ounce of gold ran close to the $ 1,600 mark. A level that the precious metal had not reached since April 2013. The announcement of the death of Iranian general Ghassem Soleimani, executed by the American army, gave substance to the specter of an escalation of tensions between Iran and United States. Especially since Iran has not failed to retaliate by attacking American bases in Iraq. The gold reflex reflex made the match crack and ignite the courts. In fact, the desire expressed by the two protagonists, after this pass of arms, to calm the game, immediately caused a decline in the price of gold. On Friday, January 10, it was trading around $ 1,550 an ounce.
Palladium in the lead
Multiple geopolitical tensions are not alone in explaining this renewed favor for gold. The fall in interest rates and the precious metal purchases by central banks anxious to increase their reserves also help to restore its luster. But speculators also boiled other metals in 2019. And sometimes at higher temperatures.
Nickel, for example, ended the year almost 30% higher. By agitating the threat of the embargo, Indonesia has blown up the price of devil's metal. Even better. Palladium continues its upward trajectory defying all the laws of gravity. Its price has surpassed the $ 2,100 per ounce threshold, propelled by the prospect of a loss-making market, when car manufacturers need it to filter emissions from gasoline engines. Flying from record to record, its price has almost doubled in one year. Palladium has therefore picked up gold in the straight and is no longer catching up. It remains to be seen whether gold will benefit from the Olympic year with its batch of charms so dearly won by the champions, to find in 2020 its most precious metal crown. Gold and palladium will battle it out for the podium…
