Investors turn to gold amid stockmarket volatility

Gold price hits six-month highs

Investors have been attracted by gold in December as volatility in global stockmarkets drove bearish sentiment.

According to Scotiabank, holdings of gold-backed ETFs rose by 2.25m ounces in September, which helped to drive the price of the shiny metal to six-months highs above $1,290 per troy ounce. According to the FT, this in turn forced funds which had taken out shorts in the US futures market to bet against the rise of gold prices to reverse these positions, sending the market from a net short to a net long position in gold for the first time since last June. Four reasons underperforming gold equities may be about to turn Meanwhile, analysts believe that on top of this short covering the...