Gold and Silver Up in First Half of 2017

With plenty of geopolitical turmoil around the world, and strong demand from the east, gold and silver both posted healthy gains through the first half of 2017.
While most of the mainstream headlines focus the short-term drop in the price of gold in June, looking at the bigger picture reveals a much more positive trend for precious metals. The price of gold rose 7.9% through the first half of the year. Meanwhile, the price of silver logged a healthy 4% advance.
Safe-haven buying helped drive the surge. Investors are buying gold and silver in a world of uncertainty, and an abundance of caution helped push the price of gold higher. Political uncertainty and geopolitical tensions around the world have people on edge and seeking the safe-haven gold traditionally offers. The war in Syria continues to rage, the relationship between Russia and US remains tense, Qatar is locked in a standoff with its neighbors, numerous terror attacks have rocked Europe over the last several month, and how Brexit will proceed remains up in the air.
One could look at the current political tensions and troubling events on the horizon and think, ‘well, this will soon pass.’ But as we’ve pointed out in recent months, uncertainty seems to be the new norm. Next week, there will be a whole new set of political issues, surprise events, and rising tensions to make us uneasy.

This post was published at Schiffgold on JULY 3, 2017.