theguardian19d ago
Rolling coverage of the final day of the World Economic Forum in DavosThe precious metals market is giving its own verdict on the stability of the global economy.Gold has hit yet another record high today, at $4,967 an ounce, pushed up by geopolitical risks, concerns about the independence of America’s central bank, and anxiety that high debt levels may lead to currency debasement.The weak dollar is helping to push gold to a fresh record high. The gold price is higher by more than 7% this week and is up $20 so far on Friday. There is no stopping the gold price right now, as the $5,000 per ounce level beckons.Investors may be willing to buy stocks in this environment, but geopolitical risk and an unconventional US President is keeping demand for the yellow metal alive as we move through January.“I think the trust is undermined. When you keep repeating the same pattern of undermining the rule of law, undermining the contracts, undermining what has been agreed between parties, then parties begin questioning, is that for real? Is that going to change again? And that’s when uncertainty looms large.”“I put this down to the fact that 2025 turned out to be a decent year for the global economy. Part of this was tariff climbdowns combined with resilient consumer spending and labor markets.And part of this was the offsetting demand from the Al and data center investment boom and its spillovers through the trade channel.”8.45am Davos / 7.45am GMT: Session on Next Generation Social Movements9am Davos / 8.45am GMT: Session on Geopolitical Risks Outlook for 202610.15am Davos / 9.15am GMT: Session on the Meaning of Politics11am Davos / 10am GMT: Session on the Global Economic Outlook Continue reading...