Global Gold Prices Surge, Hitting Record High in May 2024

Global gold prices have continued to rise in recent months. According to World Bank data, up to May 2024, the average price of 99.5% fine gold (London Fix Afternoon Price) reached US$2,351 per troy ounce.

The price increased by 18% year-on-year, setting a new record high in World Bank records.

In its October 2023 Commodity Market Outlook report, the World Bank stated that gold prices often rise alongside increasing investor concerns about the global situation.

"Gold prices are often seen as a barometer of global uncertainty," the World Bank said in its report.

"Previous geopolitical conflicts and uncertainties have often been accompanied by rising gold prices. If a wider conflict occurs in the Middle East, gold prices are likely to rise further from already high levels, as investors shift to safer assets," it continued.

According to World Bank records, over the past two decades, gold prices have always surged during international conflicts.

For example, during the September 11 attacks in the United States (2001), the Libyan civil war (2011), the US airstrikes on Iranian militant bases in Baghdad (2019), the Russia-Ukraine war (2022), and the Israel-Hamas war (2023).

According to the financial services company UBS, the rise in gold prices this year has been influenced by various factors such as the US central bank's interest rate policy, the US elections, US-China tensions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Hamas war.

"Increased geopolitical risk will support gold prices," said the UBS analyst team in their Chief Investment Office Daily Updates, March 8, 2024.