All that glitters was gold on Monday, after prices for the world’s most precious metal skyrocketed to an all-time high amid ongoing geopolitical strife in Europe and the Middle East.The yellow metal tacked on more than USD$33.03 to shoot up past $2,118 per Troy ounce in London. That surpassed the previous record of $2,078 set on December 28, 2023.It’s the highest level both in terms of absolute, as well as inflation adjusted dollars. No surprise, its rise is being fuelled by geopolitical and economic tensions.It comes as negotiations for the release of hostages in Gaza stalled and the Houthis in Yemen sank a cargo ship in the Red Sea.Analysts said prices were also bolstered by weaker economic data in the US, Canada and Europe pointing to possible interest rate cuts as early as June. Gold tends to underperform in periods of lower interest rates and out perform when inflation rates are rising..“Yet again gold reinforces its diversification appeal with the new high reached today,”Ruth Crowell, CEO of the London Bullion Merchants Association.“Yet again gold reinforces its diversification appeal with the new high reached today,” Ruth Crowell, CEO of the London Bullion Merchants Association said in a statement. “The yellow metal is currently performing even better than recently forecast by analysts in this year’s LBMA Annual Precious Metals Forecast Survey, whose average forecast for gold was $2,059.”The LBMA was set up in 1987 in conjunction with the Bank of England to oversee the custody, maintenance and regulation of the Good Delivery List, separate from the London Gold Market. It’s data and prices are considered the ‘gold standard’ for the industry.The rally began last Thursday following the release of US inflation numbers that came in around 2.8%. Although it was the lowest rate since 2021 it was still higher than expected.It continued on Friday after US Treasury yields fell, putting pressure on the US dollar and bolstering the case for interest rate cuts starting as early as June..The Bank of Canada releases its own interest rate announcement on Wednesday, which isn’t expected to change from the current 5% overnight rate. However, observers are looking for indicators as to when the bank might start cutting rates on this side of the border.Canada is the world’s fourth largest gold producer behind China, Australia and Russia. It accounted for the largest share of Canada’s mineral exports — excluding oil — which was worth about CAD$22.34 billion in 2022 according to StatsCan numbers.The Western Standard has reached out to Calgary-based Silver Gold Bull for comment about the latest price increases. On its website it says “one of the biggest reasons for investing in gold is diversification. To put it simply, you don’t want all your eggs in one basket. By diversifying your investment portfolio, you’re reducing the overall risk faced while improving the odds of positive returns.
