Everything you ever wanted to know about the gold price – Wall Street Journal

The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown it caused have wreaked havoc in the South African economy, but the gold price has been soaring. Gold Fields has been quoted as saying that booming gold prices could drive up half-year profits by more than 300%, triggering a 10% share rally. Reuters reports that the mining company may have had to shut its operations, but it had already said the Covid-19 pandemic would have a limited negative impact on its performance. So what's behind gold's record-breaking bull run? This Wall Street Journal article explains how the market works and what drives the price, and gives us the knowledge that the holds of passenger planes sometimes carry more than suitcases full of crumpled clothes. In good times, gold costs about the same amount on London's physical market as it does on New York's Comex exchange. If prices move out of sync, banks bring them back in line by buying bullion in one city, flying it across the Atlantic (normally in the cargo hold of a passenger plane) and selling it at a profit. Covid-19 put paid to those flights which led to fears of a shortage in New York, sending futures well above spot prices in London. There's a gold lining to the Covid-19 cloud, it seems.- Renee Moodie 

Why gold prices are hitting all-time highs

By Joe Wallace

Gold prices are on track to notch new records this week, after closing at over $2,000 a troy ounce for the first-time ever on Tuesday in New York trading. That marks a fresh milestone in a bull run that began in late 2018 and has gathered momentum during the coronavirus pandemic. The precious metal has soared almost 35% in 2020, outstripping the rally in the Nasdaq Composite Index of highflying technology stocks.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___