Jan 8, 2020

Gold has been 2020's star asset

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
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U.S. equities have been both resilient and rangebound following the killing of Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani, but gold has seen a major boost, jumping to its highest level in close to seven years and continuing to climb.

The big picture: Even in the face of better-than-expected U.S. data released Tuesday morning, gold edged higher.

  • It then took another leg up after Iran retaliated against the U.S. by striking U.S.-Iraqi bases Tuesday night.

Details: Gold prices have gained nearly 4% in the nascent year and the commodity has been one of the best performing assets in the world.

  • Gold trails only returns for orange juice (yes, really), a gauge of energy infrastructure Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), and the rebounding Chilean benchmark stock index, per FactSet data.
  • It has delivered about triple the return of the Nasdaq and more than quadruple the S&P 500.
  • Even crude oil (up 2.7% YTD), which also has gotten a price bump from the growing unease in the Middle East, has fallen well short of gold's gains so far in 2020.

Go deeper: Gold mining companies are shunning big projects despite rising prices

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

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  4. Public health: Ex-FDA chief projects "apex" of South's coronavirus curve in 2-3 weeks — Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"
  5. Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds — Pelosi accuses Trump of "messing with the health of our children."
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