Gold up 170% in first quarter

A bevy of tariff headlines this week along with geopolitical worries has left investors wary and weary, taking stocks lower in Asian hours, gold to a record peak and the yen to its highest in over two months as sentiment remains fragile.

The risk-off mood meant the yen – already underpinned by rising odds of the Bank of Japan hiking rates again – was the main mover among currencies, hitting its highest level since early December and was last at 150.48 per dollar.

Both Citi and Goldman raised their target price on gold this month, predicting it to breach the $3,000 mark. A large part of the reason behind the bullishness is sustained demand from central banks. Perhaps in these uncertain times, gold is all that shines.

Source – Reuters

In 1979, a couple using a metal detector in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields of Western Australia located a massive gold nugget. Known today as the “Golden Beauty,” the nugget weighs in at nearly 10 pounds.

It is currently on the auction block. According to Heritage Auctions, the opening bid was $400,000.

At the current spot price, the gold is worth around $481,800.

“Gold always has been enormously popular, in part because of its pure value and beauty, but also because it is exceedingly rare,” Heritage Auctions vice president of nature and science Craig Kissick said.

Source – Money Metals

Gold futures posted their second consecutive strong gain on Tuesday, rising 3% in the two days since Moody’s downgraded its U.S. credit rating and amplified concerns over the debt and deficit spending.

The dollar slipped again, weighed down in part by cautious remarks about the economy by Federal Reserve officials and by President Trump’s failure so far to convince Republican holdouts in the U.S. House to support his sweeping tax and spending bill.

“Investors are reassessing the long-term outlook for U.S. sovereign risk. As such, safe-haven assets like gold could experience heightened demand,” Quasar Elizunda of Pepperstone said in a note.

Source – Seeking Alpha

Moody’s Corporation – (MCO) a New York-based company that owns Moody’s Investors Service that rates creditworthiness of companies, governments, and fixed income debt securities, and Moody’s Analytics.