The strong dollar was among the factors hindering gold and bullion-backed exchange traded funds last year, but the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), the largest physically backed gold-related ETF on the market, is higher by nearly 3% to start 2019.
Gold may continue to shine in 2019. As the market environment shifts, some analysts believe that the depressing influences on gold that occurred during the before the last quarter of 2018 will not likely be repeated in 2019. Furthermore, gold will see continued investment demand among the emerging markets, along with increased demand for safe-haven plays across developed markets.
“It should be no surprise to seasoned investors that gold has regained some of its shine over recent months,” said S&P Dow Jones Indices in a recent note. “A resurgence in investors’ appetite for so-called ‘safe-haven’ assets has seen the S&P GSCI Gold rise by 11% since mid-August 2018 to the highest level since May 2018. Considering gold’s relative performance, which is arguably a more valuable comparison from a portfolio perspective, gold strongly outperformed U.S. equities during the final quarter of 2018 before giving back some of that outperformance, as U.S. equities rallied through January 2019.”
What’s Next for Gold Investing
However, investors remain largely confident that the U.S. economy will still expand, which may benefit riskier assets like stocks. Furthermore, while gold has somewhat benefited from the dovish stance from the Federal Reserve since a lower-for-longer interest rate would weaken the U.S. dollar and support gold prices, the same Fed comments would also bolster stocks and other risky bets for the year.
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