Gold price spike: Recession fears or high demand?

Recession anxiety can drive both gold and the U.S. dollar higher. With stocks at all-time highs and bond yields near historic lows, precious metals such as gold have jumped in value.

“Gold can be what I call a ‘fear trade,’ ” says Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management in Columbus. “When the economy creates fear in the minds of investors, their fear can cause a flee to safety. Since gold is a hard asset, it calms those recession-weary minds.”

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The price of gold also has been driven higher by robust demand from the jewelry business that’s been outstripping supply, Evy Hambro, manager of the BlackRock World Mining Trust, told Bloomberg and CNBC in September.

The price of shares of GLD, the exchange-traded fund that tracks with the price of the precious metal‚ rose 20 percent over the three-month period, while the overall S&P 500 rose 2 percent, according to CNBC. The price of gold reached $1,550 an ounce in late August.

Here's the infographic from the October edition.

Katy Smith is the editor of Columbus CEO.