Gold isn't your safe haven in this war: It just logged its biggest weekly drop in over 14 years Margin calls, jump in 'value-at-risk' and a shift in U.S. interest-rate expectations are pulling precious-metals prices lower
Gold futures fell 9.5% for the week ended March 20.
Gold prices posted their largest weekly percentage drop in more than 14 years Friday, underscoring how shocks from the Iran conflict are unleasing havoc in markets, even for traditional safe-haven assets.
The Iran war adds a lot of uncertainty, which would in theory boost demand for gold, said Aakash Doshi, global head of gold and metals strategy at State Street Investment Management. But instead, the precious metal has been overwhelmed by broader economic forces, he noted.
A big factor has been the conflict's role in potentially ending the Federal Reserve's interest-rate-cutting cycle - and maybe even ushering in rate hikes. There has also been a rebound in the U.S. dollar DXY, Doshi told MarketWatch, as well as profit-taking and some use of the metal as a "liquidity sleeve to raise cash."
On Comex, the most active, April contract for gold (GCJ26) (GC00) fell $30.80, or 0.7%, to settle at $4,574.90 an ounce Friday. It logged a weekly loss of 9.5%, which was the largest one-week percentage decline for a most active contract since Sept. 23, 2011, according to Dow Jones Market Data. For the month, the precious metal has lost 12.8%. ..........
https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20260320264/gold-isnt-your-safe-haven-in-this-war-it-just-logged-its-biggest-weekly-drop-in-over-14-years