Gold to remain in spotlight as many countries go to polls this year

NEW DELHI — From the beginning of 2024, gold has been on a strong footing having risen by 6 per cent as against the broader equity market says Naveen KR, smallcase Manager & Senior Director, Windmill Capital.

The slew of elections lined up in this fiscal year bodes well for gold. The reason is that during times of uncertainties, investors tend to park their money in safer asset classes, he said.

“As a lot of countries go into elections this year, gold would likely remain in the spotlight. Not to mention, the strong institutional buying that gold has witnessed over the past few years which in turn provides a solid support to this asset class,” he said.

Navneet Damani, Senior VP, Commodity Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said gold continues to hover around its all-time high levels, on the back of weakness in the Dollar amid uncertainty over U.S. interest rate cuts, while increased safe-haven demand also aided prices.

Following gold’s footsteps, silver too marked an all-time high on the domestic front, amidst a sharp rally in industrial metals.

Persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with a devastating earthquake in Taiwan, spurred safe haven plays into bullion and other precious metals, he said.

Fed Governor and officials’ comments remain mixed regarding the pace of interest rate cuts in this year. Governor Powell in his comments mentioned that the interest rates have peaked for this cycle, however, they will still watch the economic numbers and inflation trend before taking any decision.

Governor Powell believes that the monetary policy is tight. Economic data points from the US are also reported a bit mixed, but no major impact is being seen on the metal prices, he said.