Gold Extends Slide After Worst Quarter in 13 Years
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- Gold futures dropped 1.24% to $3,989.00 in early trade on Wednesday, while spot prices fell 0.82% to $3,974.51, extending a brutal sell-off.
- The precious metal shed about 16% in the three months ended June 30 — its worst quarter since Q2 2013 — and is down 7.76% year-to-date after peaking at an all-time high of $5,586.20 on Jan. 29.
- Amundi Investment Institute argued in its mid-year Global Investment Outlook that gold still has a key role in portfolios as traditional correlations break down, citing high public debt, a challenging monetary policy backdrop, and central bank diversification away from dollar-based assets.
- Monica Defend, head of Amundi Investment Institute, said the best portfolios for the new regime must be diversified across currencies, invested in real assets and gold, and explore equity sectors and structural themes with discipline.
- The World Gold Council's annual Central Bank Gold Reserves survey found that more global central banks are poised to increase their gold reserves over the next year.
- Silver joined the precious-metals rout, with futures falling 3.34% to $57.49 and spot silver shedding 1.31% to $57.80.
Why it matters: Investors who bought gold at its January 29 peak of $5,586.20 are now sitting on sharp paper losses after the 16% quarterly wipeout, yet Amundi and the World Gold Council are still constructive — pointing to central bank buying and dollar-diversification tailwinds that could underpin demand into the second half.
