New | It may be time to buy gold: HSBC

HSBC Group analysts are telling clients that gold may be about to have another shining moment, as the precious metal’s status as a safe haven asset could boost prices, given the prospect of a looming downward shift in globalisation.

The firm’s Chief Precious Metals Analyst James Steel says in a note published on Friday that “demand for gold is often stimulated by the same factors that fan protectionist and populist sentiment” and that “abrupt declines in cross border trade, investment and immigration, the dislocation of global economic policies, and a beggar-thy-neighbor approach to trade is almost tailor-made for higher gold prices.”

Wall Street and Washington have grown more concerned about the future of global trade in recent weeks. Analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch warned that “events show nations are becoming less willing to cooperate, more willing to contest.”

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew recently sought to launch a robust defence of globalisation, arguing that efforts to boost trade, combined with a more equitable distribution of the fruits of economic growth, are key to ensuring US prosperity.