The spectre of default hangs over the world’s largest economy. Congress has been haggling for weeks over a deal to allow further borrowing. China is grumbling. The gold price is soaring to record highs.
In 2011, brinkmanship over the debt ceiling and an S&P downgrade of the US sovereign credit rating helped trigger a surge in gold prices to a record $1,920 an ounce.
Today, the US political drama is much the same. And yet the gold market has barely shrugged. In fact, the yellow metal, supposedly an index of distrust in US politicians, has slid. On Tuesday it fell to its lowest in three months, and some analysts believe it may soon test July’s three-year low.