Gold prices fall for 8 consecutive days, hitting the largest single-week decline in 43 years! Has the wartime gold investment "myth" lost its magic?

(Source: Shangguan News)

In recent days, the volatile performance of gold has attracted market attention.

This week, international markets saw continued declines in precious metals like gold and silver. The April futures price of gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped from $5,061.70 per ounce last Friday to below $4,600 per ounce by this Friday, a total weekly decline of 9.62%, the largest weekly drop in 15 years. Meanwhile, the May futures price of silver fell from over $80 per ounce to below $70, with a weekly decline of over 14%. Additionally, spot gold in London briefly fell below $4,500 per ounce during trading, with a weekly decline of over 11%, marking the eighth consecutive day of decline.

On March 18, the spot gold price (XAU) broke below $5,000 per ounce; on March 19, the decline continued, with a intraday low of $4,501.50 per ounce, a drop of over 5% for the day. This week, gold plunged over 10% to a seven-week low, marking the largest weekly decline since March 1983.

In the early hours of March 21, both spot gold and gold futures broke below $4,500 per ounce, with a weekly decline of over 10%, the largest weekly drop in 43 years.

On March 21, domestic branded gold jewelry prices continued to fall sharply compared to the previous day. Chow Tai Fook’s official website showed that the price of 24K gold jewelry was 1,397 yuan per gram, down 50 yuan from the previous day’s 1,447 yuan, breaking below 1,400 yuan per gram.

Chow Sang Sang’s pure gold jewelry was priced at 1,389 yuan per gram, down 54 yuan from the previous 1,443 yuan.

Additionally, well-known brands like Luk Fook Jewelry and Lao Miao Gold saw their gold jewelry prices drop below 1,400 yuan per gram, with significant declines compared to the previous day. Compared to the end of January this year, when branded gold jewelry prices generally exceeded 1,700 yuan per gram, prices have fallen by over 300 yuan per gram in less than two months.

On March 21, headlines such as “Gold jewelry prices plummeted again” and “Gold jewelry prices crashed by 32 yuan overnight” trended on social media, with ongoing increased attention.

Why has gold, as a safe-haven asset, “failed”?

As a traditional safe-haven asset, why did gold seem to “fail” in this round of Middle East conflicts? Analysts point out that the main reason is that the market’s trading focus has shifted from “geopolitical safe-haven” to “inflation expectations and monetary policy battles.” The conflict in the Middle East ignited the oil market, quickly fueling strong concerns about a resurgence of global inflation.

Despite the short-term sharp decline, many Wall Street institutions remain optimistic about gold’s long-term prospects. Analysts believe that ongoing central bank gold purchases, de-dollarization trends, and geopolitical uncertainties will continue to support gold prices. JPMorgan still forecasts that gold futures could reach $6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026, while Deutsche Bank maintains its long-term target of $6,000 per ounce.

Important reminder: This article does not constitute investment advice.

Warm reminder: The market carries risks; invest rationally.

(Compiled from CCTV Finance, China News Weekly, China Fund Report, Shanghai Securities News, Rednet)

Original title: “Gold Price Falls for 8 Consecutive Weeks, Largest Weekly Drop in 43 Years! Has the War-Time Gold Investment Myth Failed?”

Header image source: Shangguan Header image

Source: Author: Xinmin Evening News Ni Yanhong He Di Compilation