Gold’s biggest rally since the 1970s is being stoked by “gold-plated Fomo”, as investors fearful of missing out on returns and worried about inflation add the precious metal to their portfolios.
The bullion price has rocketed nearly 50 per cent this year to a record of more than $3,800 per troy ounce after US President Donald Trump’s trade war sparked a rush to haven assets and sent the dollar tumbling.
But even when tariff-induced volatility in financial markets receded over the summer, the gold price accelerated, with a near-12 per cent jump in September alone marking the biggest monthly gain since 2011.
A crucial catalyst, said asset managers, was the wider range of investors jumping on the bandwagon of soaring prices after years of record buying by central bank reserve managers.
“It’s gold-plated Fomo,” said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management, referring to a “fear of missing out” that has helped stoke huge gains in megacap technology stocks and other markets such as credit. “Gold has become so big . . . that you cannot ignore it. There becomes a level when it becomes impossible not to own it.”
