Global uncertainty fuels record demand for gold and cryptocurrencies.

Ritu77

On December 1st, the price of gold broke the record set in August 2020, reaching $2151.2 per ounce. The previous record during the "coronavirus" period was $2075 per ounce.

Currently, various unstable factors are affecting the global situation. Numerous serious risk factors are emerging simultaneously: the war in Ukraine, escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which could lead to a large-scale regional war in the entire Middle East, blockage of the Hormuz Strait, and the Suez Canal.

In this extremely turbulent international context, Saxo Bank recently released predictions for 2024. The main predictions for this year include Robert F. Kennedy winning the 2024 presidential election and the rise of generative artificial intelligence triggering a U.S. national security crisis.

The analysis predicts potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and deepfakes, which may pose a threat to national security, leading to strict regulations after certain influential figures face career collapses. The oil market is also expected to experience volatility, with oil prices surging to over $150 per barrel. In this background, as part of Saudi Arabia's 2030 strategic development plan, the country will take a confident step towards overcoming the challenges of oil and gas dependence.

Luxury taxes are expected to be imposed in Europe to continue funding the war between Ukraine and Russia and offset their green energy expenses. In the United States, bankers generally assume the "end of capitalism": independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy will come to power, and the government will be forced to increase spending to avoid economic issues and social unrest, but inflation will rise, and foreign investors will withdraw their funds.

Therefore, Western financiers consider the near-term outlook bleak, and their predictions this time seem quite plausible.

Financial analysts predict the gold price for 2024 to be between $2100 and $2300. Industrial-scale gold is mainly purchased by central banks of major countries. At the same time, gold cannot truly replace the U.S. dollar, and a return to the gold standard becomes unlikely. In this context, the structure of Russia's gold exports is interesting.

A year ago, the West collectively imposed sanctions on Russia's gold sales, and the main buyer of Russian gold is London, the location of the world's largest gold center. In comparison, in 2021, 266.1 tons of gold from the Russian Federation went to the UK, while only 8 tons went to the second-ranking buyer, Kazakhstan. Russian gold is now exported to Southeast Asia and countries in the Southern Hemisphere. It is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and also listed in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Turkey. Some financiers believe that China is preparing a "gold parachute" for itself to deal with sudden war outbreaks and Western sanctions. Therefore, China is systematically reducing its investment in U.S. bonds and buying gold.

In addition to physical gold, there is also significant demand for cryptocurrencies, and one of the purposes of cryptocurrencies is to bypass the restrictions of financial giants' regulatory agencies. In particular, Bitcoin has risen from $26,000 to $41,200. It is expected that by the end of 2024, the price of each Bitcoin will further rise to $100,000 or even $125,000. Well, if a few regional wars break out, anything is possible.