Precious Metals Impress, Disappoint and Shock
Bullion may be a safe-haven investment. However, precious metals have also caused some to scratch their heads in recent months.
Gold broke new records in 2012 when it broke into $1,800 territory and again smashed records in 2020 when it surpassed $2,050. Yet, gold has not waged a convincing campaign past $2,000 amid global crises now, let alone has it yet to gesture toward landmark thresholds of $2,500 or $3,000 – benchmarks many analysts have long called for during times just like these.
What of silver, a metal that lurched past $30 an ounce on the heels of a social media speculation in winter 2021? It can hardly sustain a run past $25 now, and it is nowhere near the $50 highs reached in 2011. Platinum has also seen a price drop, largely due to dropping demand because of a dogging shortage of semiconductor chips and murkier projections for electric car production in the future.
Nickel is a bright spot, recently seeing prices increase more than 200% in just a matter of months. Trading at highs of $100,000 per metric ton, this base metal has become one of the hottest stars in bullion trading. With gures like those, even a standard ve-cent nickel, containing 25% nickel and 75% copper, is worth some 16 cents. At those prices, it may make someone think twice before spending their Je¡erson nickels at face value.