INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
By Samuel Potter and Eddie van der WaltThe remarkable thing about recent yen performance may not be its almost 4 percent surge against
dollar on Thursday, but fact currency just clocked its best month in about two years.
That exact statistic also applies to gold, which in
December notched largest jump since January 2017
Both assets have continued to climb this year
Meanwhile, bonds of G-7 governments had their best December in a decade, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index.
Put simply,
traditional havens are back.
The same myriad of drivers bedeviling equity investors in 2019 is also sending them to safety
At same time, Federal Reserve tightening is sapping liquidity and in process reigniting volatility in markets
While thin liquidity amplified move and currency went on to trim a large chunk of gains, it remained well up on day and was poised to
and precious metals strategist at ABN Amro Bank NV said by email from Amsterdam
brightened in mid-October, when money managers abandoned their record net-short position against metal as outlook for dollar
deteriorated.
Since then, investors have piled into exchange-traded funds backed by bullion, which have amassed 126 tons of metal worth $5.2
billion in 60 sessions -- biggest increase over a comparable period in more than 18 months.
A paring of expectations for rate hikes has also
Treasury yields have dropped 60 basis points since early November as fears of slowing American growth are compounded by trade concerns and
narrowed to less than 15 basis points Thursday
covered bonds and securities from AAA rated organizations such as European Investment Bank.
