It’s been a tough stretch for gold, and by proxy, gold stocks.
Gold has traditionally been considered a safe haven for investors in times of recession as it provides an effective hedge against inflation. Prices in the U.S. are rising at their fastest pace in 40 years, and the Federal Reserve is aggressively hiking interest rates to counter the red-hot inflation.
But the U.S. dollar has spiked amid this rate-tightening cycle, which, in turn, has weighed on dollar-denominated commodities – including gold.
Still, despite being down roughly 6% for the year-to-date, gold futures appear to be stabilizing above the $1,700 per-ounce mark.
John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, isn’t spooked by gold’s price struggles this year. He believes that as investors actively look for ways to diversify their portfolios, store-of-value assets like gold tend to float to the top of the list.
He also says that with with “gold being quite cheap versus most other commodities, investors may begin to buy.” LaForge has a 2022 year-end price target of $2,050 per ounce for gold, which implies a significant rally from current levels.
Such a rally would certainly benefit gold stocks, which have…
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