Ukraine, Russia, gold and geopolitics
Gold’s role as a strategic asset! Global Head of Research, World Gold Council Juan Carlos Artigas focussed on the ongoing catastrophes and the sentiment of geopolitics. He said, as the world’s attention has shifted to the crisis in Ukraine, we have received a lot of queries from investors about the effects of the recent events on gold’s performance in the short, medium and long term. Taking a step back, we believe that geopolitical events in isolation are neither the only nor the main reason why investors should own gold. Gold’s role as a strategic asset is linked to its broad contribution to returns, diversification, liquidity and positive portfolio impact. However, events like these represent a clear example of why gold is such an effective and well-established hedge against expected and unexpected market risks. As Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, morning GMT, the gold price surged to an intra-day high of US$1,974/oz and while it has given up most of Thursday’s gains as