NEW YORK (AP) — After ripping higher for much of this year, the price of gold has suddenly become not so golden since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Gold fell more than 4% in the four days since Election Day, when the broad U.S. stock market climbed nearly 4%. That’s even though investors are expecting a Trump White House to drive tax rates lower and tariffs higher. Such a combination could push the U.S. government’s debt and inflation higher, which are both things that can help gold’s price.
That’s left gold at $2,618 per ounce, as of late Monday, down from a record of roughly $2,800 set late last month. It also means gold has lost some luster as the best performing investments of the year. The largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold has seen its gain for 2024 drop back below 27% from nearly 35% a couple weeks earlier.
What’s going on? Part of the decline has coincided with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies. Tariffs and trade wars instigated by the United States could push down the value of the euro and other countries’ currencies, and a strong U.S. dollar makes it more expensive for buyers using those other currencies to purchase gold.