THE RISE AND RISE OF GOLD

With 39 highs in 2024, the yellow metal's record run is second only to the one in 1979

- Chor Khieng Yuit

Gold has been on a hot streak in 2024, with 39 record highs recorded since January 1, and there is more to come, say experts.

The World Gold Council notes that the record run is second only to the one in 1979, when the precious metal soared to 57 new highs.

The rally has plenty of life in it yet, with market watchers expecting gold to reach US$3,000 an ounce in 2025, from about US$2,700 now.

Mr George Milling-Stanley, who has been involved in gold for more than 50 years, first at the World Gold Council and now as chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said: "On Wall Street, a lot of commentators are predicting US$3,000 gold by the end of this year."

They are "getting a little bit greedy", he noted, adding that it is much more likely to hit that mark in 2025, but "probably not that quickly".

Gold has not lost its shine despite some pullbacks in November following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

Mr Milling-Stanley said gold has had a revival in interest from investors in North America in recent months: "For a long time, investment in bars and coins was growing around the world, but we were not seeing significant inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

"Now, the investment business has normalized and we expect to see more inflows into gold-backed ETFs in the future."

The World Gold Council noted on Nov 7 that global gold ETFs registered inflows again in October, the sixth straight month.