(Bloomberg) Gold began the year with lofty expectations on the back of a record high and its biggest annual gain in a decade. Instead, the precious metal is off to its worst start in 30 years.Spot prices touched a seven-month low on Friday before erasing losses as the dollar moved lower, though bullion is already down more than 6% this year.The metal, which surged last year on pandemic-induced haven buying, low interest rates and stimulus spending, is now 2021’s worst performer in the Bloomberg Commodity Index. It’s suddenly facing a host of unexpected stumbling blocks. Chief among those are the surprising resilience in the dollar and a rally in U.S. Treasury yields as economic indicators show recovery from the pandemic is well under way.With “rates going higher and inflation expectations peaking out, we’re seeing a lot of profit-taking in gold and people are going from gold into industrial metals such as copper,” said Peter Thomas, senior vice pres
(Bloomberg) Gold began the year with lofty expectations on the back of a record high and its biggest annual gain in a decade. Instead, the precious metal is off to its worst start in 30 years.Spot prices touched a seven-month low on Friday before erasing losses as the dollar moved lower, though bullion is already down more than 6% this year.The metal, which surged last year on pandemic-induced haven buying, low interest rates and stimulus spending, is now 2021’s worst performer in the Bloomberg Commodity Index. It’s suddenly facing a host of unexpected stumbling blocks. Chief among those are the surprising resilience in the dollar and a rally in U.S. Treasury yields as economic indicators show recovery from the pandemic is well under way.With “rates going higher and inflation expectations peaking out, we’re seeing a lot of profit-taking in gold and people are going from gold into industrial metals such as copper,” said Peter Thomas, senior vice pres