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Gold prices hit a new record high Monday, with futures briefly topping $2,427 a troy ounce. It’s still around that level. More broadly speaking, it is 17.1% more expensive now than it was at the start of the year. That’s a better performance than the S&P 500, which is only up 11.6% since the end of 2023. CNBC reports that the rise is a combination of things, including good inflation readings that have investors on Wall Street and in other financial capitals feeling better about the future of interest rate cuts.
Also, the commodity’s price often spikes during periods of geopolitical uncertainty. The Associated Press reports that the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, as well as foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, were found dead after the helicopter they were traveling on crashed in the northern mountains of their country. Given Iran’s role as a major global oil supplier and as the funder of militants fighting Israel during its invasion of the Gaza Strip, questions over the course of its political future will cloud business minds the world over.
Further, Bloomberg reports that metals both precious and industrial are seeing huge price increases. The primary cause seems to be a supply crunch in copper markets, which is then spilling over into silver and then into gold as well.