‘Gold doesn’t always perform in crises’: Sell-off shows liquidity trumps safe-haven appeal

[SINGAPORE] In the traditional investment playbook, gold is the asset of choice when uncertainty peaks.

But with the deepening of the Iran war, the yellow metal has come under pressure, prompting investors to sell it to raise cash.

Between the Feb 28 outbreak of the war and 6 pm on Thursday (Mar 26), gold shed 14.6 per cent. The metal has, however, steadied after a nine-day losing streak, when investors were weighing incongruent statements from the United States and Iran on talks to end the war.