Gold’s Big Run

Gold took a beating in 2021 — the precious metal finished the year down 3.6%, the worst drop since 2015 as headwinds including lower interest rates, a strengthening US dollar, surging crypto prices, and increasingly optimistic economic outlooks as Covid vaccines were rolled out put pressure on gold prices. Quantitative easing that flooded the market with cash also contributed to a “risk on” market that favored high-growth, speculative tech stocks over value stocks and steadfast “safe-haven” assets like gold.