Precious metals were the big winners for the first six months of 2020. Spot gold took the first-place position, rising more than 17 percent, followed in second place by silver, up nearly 2 percent. Palladium rounded out the top three, essentially flat at negative 10 basis points, according to a report by U.S. Global Investors.

Base metals all ended lower for the six months as COVID-19 all but brought manufacturing to a halt and shuttered factories across the globe.

Energy was the worst-performing S&P 500 sector of the first half of the year, falling as much as –35.3 percent, just beating banks, which sank 34.9 percent. Natural gas, coal and oil were all down more than 20 percent for the six-month period, as travel restrictions were put in place and demand forecasts deteriorated.

On June 30, spot gold broke $1,800 per ounce for the first time since 2011, and it later began trading above $1,900.

“It’s clear to most analysts that the precious metal is in a secular bull market,” the report noted. “Many are now predicting all-time record highs for gold in the next 12 months, with Goldman Sachs forecasting $2,000 on an ‘uneven recovery.’

A note to investors from Goldman Sachs analysts read: “Go long copper, silver and steel, and stay long gold.”

Read the full report at this link: https://bit.ly/3jUh8Fy

Andrea Zander is website content editor at Institutional Real Estate, Inc.