This year has been a record breaker for gold, as the safe-haven metal has surged to all-time highs on the back of heavy central bank buying, sticky inflation, and persistently elevated geopolitical tensions. Spot gold prices are up 24.5% on a year to date basis, with the popular currency hedge outperforming both the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (+18.1% YTD) and the Nasdaq Composite ($NASX) (+17.4% YTD). Most recently, December gold futures (GCZ24), the most active contract, set a new high as recently as Monday's session, peaking north of $2,617 per ounce.
While Vice President Kamala Harris and former POTUS Donald Trump have stayed close in presidential polls, analysts at Saxo Bank recently noted that gold should come out as a winner no matter who takes this November's election. “Either administration would inevitably expand the deficit in an economic slowdown,” wrote the firm's Head of Commodity Strategy Ole Hansen. "It doesn’t appear either party is set to deliver on fiscal austerity, which raises inflation risks, a gold positive."
