Buy the Dip While Panic Selling in Gold Lasts

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Buy the Dip While Panic Selling in Gold Lasts

Gold has always been prone to bearish Wall Street sentiment and investor overreactions, and this was perhaps on full display after the latest Federal Reserve meeting. Optimistic GDP forecasts and hints at interest rate hikes in 2023 and onwards sent gold tumbling to a two-month low, with weekly losses above 5% percent. Yet, as usual, the drivers of the move downwards are questionable at best.

Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, said that the Fed meeting was actually bullish for gold upon closer inspection. He expects prices to bounce back in the short-term. Day notes that the Fed chair essentially said the government wants to rein in its loose monetary policy, but doesn’t have a way of doing it. This is clearly demonstrated by their inability to hike rates for at least two more years.

Day believes a lot of the selling was automated on some level and that investors will soon return to their previous bullish outlook.

Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, said that markets were looking for an excuse to rebalance from technically overbought gold and oversold U.S. dollar, and that the Fed meeting was just that.

Cieszynski said that it wasn’t so much the Fed’s projections that caused the pullback, but rather the signal that officials are looking for a way to tighten monetary policy. While the statement alone was enough to send the markets selling, Day is among the numerous experts who don’t see any feasible way for the Fed to either tighten its monetary policy or subdue inflation.

The latter has been an especially prominent talking point as of late, with core and consumer inflation rising at their fastest pace in over a decade and consensus forecasts that more inflation is coming. Phillip Streible, chief investment strategist at Blue Line Futures, said that his firm has been waiting for an opportunity to buy gold.

Streible said his company has already started buying the dip, noting that they are positioning themselves for higher inflation accompanied by weaker-than-expected growth later in the year.

Last week’s Kitco News Weekly Gold Survey of 18 Wall Street analysts showed that 56% were bearish on gold in the short-term, with bullish and neutral sentiment tied with 22% votes for each. A Main Street poll with 2,174 respondents showed considerably more optimistic sentiment, with 52% of voters expecting gold to bounce back this week, 31% expecting additional pullbacks and 17% voting neutral.

Gold’s Heading Up for Many Reasons. Here’s the Weirdest One

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Gold's Heading Up for Many Reasons. Here's the Weirdest One

After months of sideways price action, gold appears to have resumed its uptrend, breaking out of its range and hitting a high just short of $1,890 during Friday’s trading session. With upwards momentum looking strong and the 200-day moving average passed, some are wondering what caused gold’s breakout after a fairly tepid few months. This time, the usual suspects are joined by an unusual trend that just might be the primary cause…

Inflation and dollar weakness

According to the World Gold Council, the price rise is the result of inflationary concerns, with the CPI jumping by 4.2% year-on-year in April. Commodity prices are soaring, which drives up the producer price index and increases consumer costs on virtually everything from food to homes.

In addition, the trillions of newly-printed dollars are still a primary concern for most investors. Thanks to three rounds of free money, spending has recovered so a lot of those dollars are chasing a limited quantity of goods, driving prices higher. with inflation already materializing on one front and warnings of a lot of more to come on another.

JPMorgan reports big institutional investors dumping “digital gold” for the real thing

Some experts view the recent cryptocurrency “correction” (which seems like too subtle a word to describe a 7-day 40% plunge) as the real reason behind gold’s recent price gains. Bitcoin was praised as an inflationary hedge due to its fixed supply and, in fact, was invented primarily as a counterweight to central bank malpractice after the 2008 financial crisis.

But the recent double-digit percentage correction in the market reminded investors looking for a hedge that the crypto market is, and has always been, a highly volatile one.

While bitcoin provides hedging utility, its price volatility absolutely boggles the mind. This is where gold emerges as a familiar, reliable and most of all stable asset, as an overnight double-digit percentage pullback would be virtually unheard of in the well-established market. That’s probably why JP Morgan’s report of big institutional investors choosing stable hedging with gold over volatile hedging with bitcoin.

That might be a partial explanation of our unusual fund flow report…

Paper gold funds bucking the price trend

As seen on Chief Investment Officer, Tom McClellan offers a curious take that even the keen analyst might have overlooked.

McClellan notes that spikes in gold prices are usually followed by massive inflows into large gold funds. It’s the same pattern you see in stocks: once a stock has proven it’s a winner by going up, everyone wants a piece of the success, so they buy. It’s a human reaction. It’s the closest thing to a law of investing there is.

This time is different. Despite a major upward move in gold’s price, two of the biggest gold funds (SPDR Gold Shares, GLD and iShares Gold Trust, IAU) have not gained buyers. They have not seen the kind of cash inflow that always seems inevitable when prices go up. What’s going on?

McClellan interprets this as investors still not having woken up to the goings-on in the gold market, perhaps due to the hectic economic situation affecting all other markets. This could also be seen as investors uncharacteristically holding out for further developments before making a move, which doesn’t sound bullish on its own.

McClellan explained the potential benefits of the situation this way:

The uptrend is not mature yet. It still has more to go, before we get to the point when everyone starts piling in.

“Piling in” in this case means buying paper gold, which drives up gold’s spot price, which in turn tends to attract paper gold buyers… Basically the kind of feeding frenzy that has the potential to send prices skyrocketing.

Given that gold has already broken out to the cusp of $1,900, the kind of acknowledgment and subsequent piling into funds that McClellan hints to would quickly translate to fireworks in the gold market.

If McClellan’s idea that gold’s uptrend has just started gaining traction towards $1,900, on the way to its previous all-time high, the smart investors who hold gold have plenty to be excited about.

Gold’s Perfect Storm Is On the Horizon

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Gold's Perfect Storm Is On the Horizon

The when, why and how regarding gold’s “perfect storm,” or the appreciation of an asset that many consider to be severely undervalued, is a matter of frequent debate. Mining.com’s Richard Mills believes the forecast is clear, the clouds are building, and lightning is striking closer than ever. Rising gold price will be driven by protectionist policies spearheaded by China, the likelihood of a major inflationary bout, low rates, negative yields, supply gluts and tensions.

The multiple fronts of the perfect storm

That’s quite a basket of factors, and China’s movements as of late have perhaps been of the biggest interest to some. In short order, the Asian nation has brought 150 tons of gold bullion into its country and launched a digital yuan that some believe could at some point be tethered to gold. While it might not be in China’s interest to dump the U.S. dollar as it holds over $3 trillion in its reserves, it might very well look to take the greenback’s spot as the world’s reserve given the opportunity of a banking meltdown or a currency crisis.

Having a gold-backed digital yuan would ideally position it for such a role at a time when the amount of money pumped into the U.S. economy almost echoes hyperinflation. How and when this pent-up cash will be unleashed hasn’t yet been laid out, but consumer prices are already spiking across the board, and a nearly 30% expansion in M2 year-to-date hardly means good news for the free-floating dollar.

Central banks stockpiling gold

It should come as no surprise, then, that countries around the world are stockpiling gold with various stated goals that can best be summed up as a need for solid backing. The 650 tons of gold bullion bought by central banks in 2018, and a repeat in 2019, was then seen by many as de-dollarization, but there appear to be plenty more layers to this story as the official sector returns to net buying. The supply, on the other hand, is lacking.

World’s gold production falling

A World Gold Council report showed that last year’s gold supply fell by 4% compared to 2019, with production likewise dropping by 4%. While the production losses were attributed to the crisis, Mills points out that data released by top miners shows that gold output between 2019 and 2021 could be marked with a further 9.5% decline.

Speaking of declining…

Declining and subzero bond yields make gold a preferred safe haven

The piling into gold as a safe-haven asset by investors and central banks alike has also been bolstered by the fall of the bond market. For all the criticism that the U.S. Treasury gets for having a 1.5% 10-year yield, 2.26% 30-year yield and a negative 1.1% real yield, it stands as one of the few sovereign bonds that actually offer a yield at all. For comparison, on the date of publication, here are the 10-year bond yields among several of the world’s other leading reserve currencies:

  • France: 0.084%
  • Germany: -0.25% (French and German yields quoted as proxies for Euro zone)
  • Japan: 0.077%
  • U.K.: 0.759%
  • Switzerland: -0.259%

The bond market’s sharp decline began in 2019, and many analysts believe that portfolio managers will grow to adopt gold in a reassessment of what offers a safe return of capital rather than a return on capital.

While there are various geopolitical tensions that could bolster gold’s appeal, the trade war between the U.S. and China will likely prove to be by far the biggest red flag, as the latter appears bent on diminishing the dollar on the global stage and placing itself as a reserve alternative. And, by printing trillions of dollars out of thin air with only hope backing them, the Federal Reserve will likely end up as an accomplice in any such bid.

These are all the factors of gold’s perfect storm Mills sees on the horizon. Only time will determine if this ominous forecast portends a brief squall or a hundred-year flood.

“Gold as an Inflation Hedge” to Push Gold Price to $1,850: Scotiabank

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Gold as an Inflation Hedge to Push Gold Price to $1,850: Scotiabank

In their monthly commodity report, Scotiabank went over their expectations for gold and silver in the face of what they refer to as the best economic growth in 40 years. This, of course, refers to the bank’s forecasts that the U.S. economy will expand by 6.2% this year and 4.4% in 2022.

Economic Forces Driving Gold Higher

These figures would normally be staggering, yet context is very much a key factor in this scenario. A growth of this magnitude has only been made possible in the form of a rebound from what most agreed was the biggest blow to the U.S. economy in the last century. Unsurprisingly, investors have been quick to adopt positive sentiment and have pushed both bond yields and the U.S. dollar higher, creating tremendous short-term pressure for gold.

Nonetheless, as gold price bounced back-and-forth between the $1,700 level, it pays to reassess the foundations on which the rebound, as well as the supposed growth, lie. To facilitate a recovery, the Federal Reserve had to commit to a zero-interest-rate policy along with pumping trillions of dollars into the economy. How soon and in what way this prolonged loose monetary policy will affect the nation has been the subject of plenty of speculation, but inflation seems to be on the mind of even the most optimistic market participant.

The newly-printed dollars have to go somewhere and wind up debasing the currency, and many economists believe that the effect could be felt the hardest in the form of a sudden inflationary spike. The general consensus is that prices for all base goods will see a considerable rise over the next five years. (In other words, inflation.)

$1,850 Average Gold Price per Ounce in 2021

In good part because of this, Scotiabank’s team is sticking to the average $1,850 gold price forecast for both 2021 and 2022. While the bank projects strong economic growth around the world, the ongoing negative developments surrounding the health crisis leave much to be desired in terms of certainty. It also pays to notice that countries around the world were reporting stagnant or contracting growth ahead of the crisis, with Germany’s manufacturing sector being just one example.

Regardless of how global growth unfolds over the next two years, Scotiabank sees silver as an investment that is poised to appreciate even more than gold.

Scotiabank’s Case for Silver

In the event of another flare-up, silver is well-positioned for a flock to safe-haven assets such as the one seen last year.

While manufacturing activity was contracting in 2019, industrial demand for silver was growing due to a heavy push for green energy, and it is also something that the Biden administration has emphasized. Silver is a critical component for solar panels, and also has eco-friendly uses in high-capacity batteries, water purification and electronics manufacture.

If the manufacturing sector indeed recovers as sharply as Scotiabank forecasts, silver stands to gain significant support so long as nations’ economies grow, and even more so as the developed world pivots toward a lower-carbon footprint.

2021: Deficits, Inflation, Overvalued Stocks Drive Gold Higher

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In 2021 Deficits, Inflation, Overvalued Stocks Drive Gold Higher

The factors that drove gold to a new all-time high of $2,067 last year are well-known. The unprecedented amount of global panic caused a flock towards precious metals, one that had just as much to do with reactionary government policies as the crisis itself. Over the span of 12 months, gold gained around 25% while silver topped a seven-year high and became the main item on many a watchlist. In their Gold Outlook report for 2021, the World Gold Council (WGC) stated that it expects gold to post an almost as strong of a performance this year due to a combination of new and existing tailwinds.

Inflated stock valuations are a boon for gold

According to the report, the stock market is again shaping up to be a massive red flag. Long before the crisis hit, many experts were warning that equities’ valuations are overblown and that the longest bull run in the market’s history is slated for a correction, if not an altogether crash. The WGC points out that the S&P 500 price-to-sales ratio is at historic highs, yet also likely to expand further.

Near-zero bond yields send investors to gold as a safe haven

With the effective elimination of most sovereign bonds from portfolios, investors will now look to take on a more risk-on approach in search of gains, said the WGC. The renewed appetite for risk will also be powered by optimism in regards to a rapid global economic recovery after one of the worst slowdowns over the past century. The increased reliance on dubiously-valued stocks is likely to bring on strong pullbacks and market swings. While this turbulence alone is beneficial to gold, the metal is likely to receive even more support as higher risk will place more emphasis on hedging, especially in the absence of bonds that formerly fulfilled this role.

Inflation fears and inflation-resistant assets

Though not yet materialized in substantial form, inflation has been on the mind of every market participant ever since the government decided to expand the money supply with an unseen multi-trillion dollar stimulus. With the Federal Reserve and the European Central bank both stating their willingness to allow inflation to run past the targeted rate of 2%, the WGC’s report notes that gold prices increased by 15% on average during years where the inflation rate exceeded 3%. Of course, inflationary policies are just one of gold’s government-backed tailwinds, with ballooning budget deficits and the aforementioned normative of low to negative-yielding debt acting as pillars of support on their own.

Overseas gold demand increases

While last year’s demand for physical gold reached sky-high levels on one side, it was subdued from another as economic activity from the world’s top gold consumers slowed. The WGC expects this to change in 2021, projecting that consumer demand for gold from both China and India will return to form. The report cites data from the Indian Dhanteras festival in November as evidence that jewelry demand is already well on the track to recovery, having bounced back from the Q2 lows.

Central banks influence gold’s price

In contrast to 2018 and 2019, two record years in terms of central bank purchases, the WGC’s report forecasts a change in dynamic. With gold prices being near all-time highs, central banks could alternate between buying and selling, along with purchases no longer being widely spearheaded by Russia. Nonetheless, the WGC says that the official sector will continue to offer strong support for gold in the ever-growing bid to diversify foreign reserves, especially during a time of questionable fiat.

Gold’s 2021 Price Rises on Firm Footing

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Gold's 2021 Price Rise on Firm Footing

The flow of institutional gold in November may have caused some market watchers to reminisce of gold’s run between 2008 and 2013, one that saw the yellow metal reach a new all-time high in 2011 before a fairly sharp decline. After a lengthy absence, institutions jumped into the gold market with record purchases this year due to unprecedented uncertainty, only to reduce their holdings by a substantial margin on what looks to be improved sentiment (the release of a COVID-19 vaccine and an anticipated surge in customer spending).

Yet little has changed in terms of gold’s fundamentals and, as Friday’s trading session showed, in terms of gold’s price movement. Despite the large institutional outflows, gold hit a high of $1,890 on Friday, not too far off from the $2,070 peak set in August. According to State Street Global Advisors’ George Milling-Stanley, there aren’t too many reasons to compare gold’s current run to that of a decade prior, aside from the bullish prospects themselves.

Why is gold’s bull run different this time?

In a web seminar hosted by the firm, the chief gold strategist elaborated upon the differences between the two bull runs and why gold investors have more cause for optimism than concern heading into 2021. Milling-Stanley described gold’s last run as frothy in regards to investors chasing gains, though he nonetheless noted that it helped establish a new price range for gold, moving the metal from around $250 to $1,000.

Adam Perlaky, manager of investment research at the World Gold Council who also participated in the seminar, outlined a key point to look out for when anticipating gold’s movement over the coming years. Previously, portfolio managers have held steadfastly to the 60/40 stock/bond allocation while paying minimal attention to gold.

The safety that bonds once offered, however, is now highly questionable at best if not gone altogether. Sovereign bonds around the world are now yielding zero to negative interest, and with increasingly loose monetary policies accompanied by debasement of fiat currencies and mounting debt, the bond market is only expected to worsen. We simply can’t expect government bonds to keep pace with inflation in this interest rate environment.

Gold shines brightest at 10% allocation

This ties into Milling-Stanley’s separation of gold’s current bull run to that of 2011, as gold began truly gaining traction last year long before the pandemic was even mentioned, being given a massive push by worldwide slicing of interest rates and a subsequent dearth of safe-haven assets.

Whereas most institutions previously held a 1%-2% gold portfolio allocation at most, analysts are now expecting fund managers to increase this allocation to 4%-5%. Milling-Stanley believes institutions could look to increase their portfolio allocation to gold to as high as 10% in what will turn out to be a broad reassessment of hedging. According to State Street’s research, a 10% allocation to gold offers the optimum advantage against inflation risk and market volatility while still showing the greatest returns.

Needless to say, even the more conservative prediction of a +2%-3% increase in institutional gold holdings bodes extremely well for gold prices considering the trillions of dollars of investment capital involved.

While both experts note that vaccine developments have given way to some risk-on sentiment, the latter is expected to remain subdued considering the broader economic picture. Perlaky notes that the global economy has never encountered anything resembling this year’s pandemic, the full effects of which are still to be revealed.

To Milling-Stanley, gold’s pullback from August’s levels represents a healthy correction from what were at the time perhaps overbought levels. This should help the metal better prepare for the next leg of a lengthy bull run that could see it push to $2,300 sometime next year.

Despite Comparisons, Gold and Bitcoin “Fundamentally Different” Stores of Value

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Despite Comparisons, Gold and Bitcoin Fundamentally Different Stores of Value
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Both gold and Bitcoin offer a way for savers to preserve wealth from inflation. Despite the recent Bitcoin frenzy that generated many comparisons between Bitcoin and gold, see why only one of these assets lets its owners sleep well…

The unprecedented levels of panic and uncertainty this year have brought forth a push for safe-haven assets that is likewise difficult to match. Gold posted consecutive all-time highs, pulling other precious metals along the way, as it climbed to $2,070 in August amid risk aversion and red flags from all corners.

The drive to find a safe-haven to not only store wealth but also protect one from various downturns has also reinvigorated the cryptocurrency market, bringing Bitcoin not too far off from its peak of nearly $20,000, last seen in December 2017. Three years ago, the comparisons with Bitcoin and gold were just as present as today. Writing on FoxBusiness, Jonathan Garber speaks with many analysts who argue that both assets hold no counterparty risk and offer investors a unique diversification opportunity.

Gold and Bitcoin “fundamentally different”

Yet as tempting as it may be to compare the two, they remain fundamentally different and will continue to fulfill different roles. As Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital notes, Bitcoin’s primary purpose remains that of a currency, or rather an alternative to fiat ones. The token was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to offer people a method of exchange that would be free from money printing and other forms of central bank manipulation.

Although many have since grown to view it as a store of value, Schiff points out that Bitcoin remains fundamentally tied to its currency status. Unlike gold, it doesn’t play an important part in jewelry and manufacturing, and its flexibility and utility are largely tied to the virtual sphere. In contrast, gold requires no internet connection or validation to either be used as payment, purchased or traded.

Ray Dalio, founder of the $98.9 billion Bridgewater Associates fund whose frequent outperformance has much to do with its big bets on gold, also hesitates to make comparisons between the two assets. In a recent tweet, Dalio highlighted Bitcoin’s infamous volatility and said that it makes the case for the token’s preservation of purchasing power more difficult to make.

Bitcoin’s volatility vs. gold’s stability

Bitcoin’s price swings may have brought gains to many, but its tendency to have abrupt downturns has caused just as much worry. While the top crypto has posted a nearly full recovery from its 2018 low of $3,200, such falls have and continue to trouble investors with a long-term outlook.

On the other hand, gold’s stability has always been one of its hallmarks, if not the most important one. Whereas 10% oscillations in the price of Bitcoin are a frequent overnight phenomenon, gold is exceptionally resilient to sharp downturns, yet also able to post massive gains during times of crisis. Even in its most bearish periods, gold continues to be an asset no investor would mind owning. Particularly in the case of physical gold, one can liquidate the asset at any moment and in any corner of the world without issue and receive most of their initial investment, if not more. This has been the case for centuries, and it’s difficult to envision a different scenario.

With a little over a decade under its belt, Bitcoin has plenty of miles to walk before it can offer its holders anything close to the sense of safety and security that gold does.

Gold’s Rally Just Getting Started, Say Numerous Analysts

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Gold's Rally

Currently, prices are moving up alongside those of stocks, but a bevy of analysts agree that the yellow metal still has plenty of upside. Find out why here.

As U.S. and Chinese stocks recover after massive amounts of stimulus was pumped into both economies, some are surprised to see gold doing just as well as equities. Although the two have traditionally had an inverse correlation, it has been severed for some time now.

Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management, pointed out the differences between the respective rises in gold and stocks. In the case of the latter, the equity market’s upswing seems to rely heavily, if not exclusively, on expectations that stimulus programs will translate to corporate earnings and pave the way to an economic recovery. Prior to the pandemic, many analysts were tapping their feet as they waited for a correction in the longest-running bull market in equities’ history while warning that valuations seem to be heavily overblown.

In contrast, gold has been on a steady rise since summer last year, when central banks around the world began slashing interest rates. While a major factor, gold also had plenty of other drivers that facilitated a slew of price gains until March, when the metal briefly dipped before going on to breach $1,800 for the first time since 2011. Although the pandemic was a big reason for this move, and persistent concerns about the coronavirus are fueling gold demand, there is much more to be said about gold’s gains over the past year.

Michael Novogratz, CEO and chairman of Galaxy Digital, believes the current macro environment is a perfect one for gold to breach its all-time high. Although Novogratz took note that investors have been quick to jump on optimistic sentiment, the CEO believes things will ultimately boil down to the unprecedented amount of money printed by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. With gold having traditionally acted as the primary guard against inflation and a way of preserving wealth, Novogratz expects the metal to move past $1,950 fairly soon. The price target doesn’t look too far off, as gold has been touching and passing the $1,810 level throughout the previous trading week.

Michael Howell, CEO of Crossborder Capital, expressed very similar opinions, stating that investors should look for diversification and pegging gold as the one asset that is guaranteed to keep climbing. Like Novogratz, Howell said that stimulus programs are the best news that the gold market could receive, forecasting a climb to $2,500 within the next 18 months.

Along with being exceptionally well-positioned in both the short and long-term, a deeper analysis suggests that gold’s price should already be much higher. Peter Boockvar, an analyst at Bleakley Advisory Group, places gold’s inflation-adjusted all-time high at around $2,600 when taking into account the metal’s 1980 high of $850. Boockvar, too, believes this price adjustment is well on its way.

Is the Fed About to Become a Major Gold Buyer?

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Due to a new round of fiscal stimulus and waning global confidence in the dollar, Guggenheim’s Scott Minerd argues the Fed may resume buying gold in a big way.

In a recent note, Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Investments, outlined a possible scenario that could manifest as a result of the Federal Reserve’s massive pandemic-related stimulus. The U.S. dollar has held a tight grip on its status as a global reserve currency over the past few decades, yet recent years have seen talks of that status potentially being usurped by another sovereign in the not too distant future, with the Chinese yuan as perhaps the most aggressive candidate.

Minerd doesn’t believe that the greenback’s place as the reserve currency has been placed into question so far, but he already sees concerning signals in the form of the dollar losing its market share. These are a clear result of the Fed’s attempts to deal with a massive government deficit while also staving off a recession.

In his note, Minerd expanded upon a sort of vicious cycle that the Fed could soon find itself in. As the CIO explained, the Fed’s current rate of asset purchases is outpacing the rate of bond issuance, and the central bank is likely to try and solve this problem by upping its asset purchases to a massive $2 trillion annually.

Although the Fed’s recent pumping of trillions of dollars into the economy represented the biggest stimulus to date, Minerd thinks that an official (and even greater) quantitative easing (QE) program is on the way. With a budget deficit exceeding $3 trillion and the Fed’s commitment to boost the economy at any cost, Minerd expects the central bank to keep interest rates zero-bound for a minimum of five years, if not longer.

Needless to say, any environment of low or negative interest rates greatly benefits gold, and the yellow metal has been reaching all-time highs in numerous countries whose central banks have adopted similar policies. But there are more reasons why gold could be the refuge investors need moving forward. A commitment to zero rates, especially over a protracted period of time, would likely raise inflationary expectations and potentially pave the way for a sudden spike in inflation.

Along with weakening the greenback on their own, intrusive measures such as these could reduce confidence in the dollar and intensify speculation in regards to its place as the reserve currency. In return, the Fed could attempt to offset its risky policies by accumulating even more gold, despite its reserves already far exceeding those of any other central bank. As Minerd notes, the historic tendency of sovereign nations to hoard gold in order to maintain economic leverage is well-documented, and Minerd would not at all be surprised to see the Fed becoming a major gold buyer in the near future to avoid losing dominance on the global stage.

Gold Stands to Soar in Midst of “The Great Lockdown”

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Global economic growth is projected to fall below -3% this year, and it’s exactly why Frank Holmes argues that more people must own gold. See his argument here.

As Forbes contributor Frank Holmes points out, “The Great Lockdown” isn’t just a colloquialism used to describe the current state of affairs. It is a term that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself has come up with to describe the economic picture, along with such dismal outlooks as predicting that the world is headed towards the worst recession since the Great Depression. And, with global economic growth projected to fall below negative 3% this year, they have no shortage of data to back up their forecast.

To Holmes, this is a wake-up call that signals it’s time for every individual to focus on preserving their savings. As evidenced by the action in the gold market so far, plenty of people around the world have indeed recognized this ominous signal. Gold has climbed roughly 13% so far this year and quickly made precious metals one of the best-performing asset classes. A look into this month’s top searches on search engine also shows that gold has piqued more interest than it has at any point over the past decade, including when the metal reached its all-time high of $1,900 in 2011.

With its exceptional performance thus far, many experts and analysts have been calling for prices that even the bullish forecasters wouldn’t have dreamt of a year or two ago. Bloomberg commodity strategist Mike McGlone recently noted that gold seems to be aiming for a reversion of its long-term mean versus the S&P 500 Index, a move driven largely due to the unprecedented amount of monetary stimulus currently taking place. If true, gold would undoubtedly move on to new highs, with Holmes highlighting a range of $2,800 to $3,000 based on the S&P 500’s current mean.

Perhaps the most notable part of this analysis, however, is that a mean reversion of this kind is far from a hypothetical scenario. In May 1990, gold and the S&P 500 were both trading inside a range of 330 to 360. For a more recent example, March 2013 also saw gold and the S&P 500 trade within a 1,500 to 1,600 range, a roughly one-to-one ratio. This makes the scenario of gold climbing to $2,800 and above in the short-term a very realistic possibility backed by historical precedent.

Yet despite the clear flock to gold and extremely bullish indicators such as this, Holmes thinks far too many people remain severely underweight on the metal. A study done by the World Gold Council (WGC) last year showed that commodity indices have a minimal gold weighting, meaning that investors whose exposure through gold comes by way of funds only receive a meager amount of benefits from an outperforming asset.

Instead, Holmes recommends a much more direct approach to owning the metal, one that involves at least a 10% allocation within a portfolio with a sizeable emphasis on physical gold. While some people might feel as if they already missed their entry point due to the strength of gold’s gains so far, Holmes notes that both price forecasts and economic predictions suggest that this is far from the case.