Gold Futures Chart and Indexes

Advantages of gold trading

Gold has always been in high demand in the financial market. Analysts outline the following reasons why gold may bring profits:

– Gold is a highly liquid trading instrument
The gold market operates 24/7 every day and investors can exchange the asset for fiat currencies at any time. It is much easier and faster to sell gold than shares or bonds. This fact offers ample opportunities for speculative traders.

– Gold has low volatility
Gold stands as the most stable trading instrument. Its price rarely hikes or plummets as it usually happens to cryptocurrencies. That is why investors use gold to diversify their portfolios and reduce excessive volatility to avoid considerable losses.

– Gold is the best safe-haven asset
The precious metal tops the list of the best protective trading instruments. During turbulent times in the global economy and unstable geopolitical environment, risky assets and stock indices decline but gold prices tend to rise.

History of gold prices

In 1944, the Bretton Woods Agreement adopted the gold standard under which gold was the basis for the US dollar. Signed by 44 countries, the agreement fixed the price of gold.

Gold had been trading at $35 an ounce until former US President Richard Nixon unpegged the US dollar from gold in the early 1970s. From that moment, the precious metal entered a new era of pricing.

Between 1971 and 1980, gold showed the largest gains in its history. During that time, the value of the asset jumped by 24 times to $850.

Gold demonstrated another impressive rally after September 11, 2001. The 9/11 attacks greatly undermined confidence in the US dollar around the world but gold became more appealing. Over the next 10 years, its price rose to $1,920.

In 2020, the precious metal reached its peak in popularity. Mass asset purchases amid the pandemic pushed gold to an all-time high. The record price was $2,067.

Record gold rally in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020