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As the US elections loom large on the horizon, investors are bracing for market turbulence.

After a historic US pre-election debate, commentators agree Kamala Harris has profited, while Donald Trump’s ratings slipped, but how have markets responded?

The market turmoil of recent weeks has shifted the probability of a Fed rate cut dramatically from only several weeks ago. Indeed, whereas markets were previously cautious about a rate cut as early as September, by mid-August, markets began to price in an equal probability of a 25 bps rate cut as a 50 bps cut in September.

US national government debt-to-GDP reached 120% in 2023, recapturing the level seen following years of wartime spending in 1945.

Strong Q1 economic data from the US manufacturing, housing and employment sectors, combined with inflation of between 3.5–4% since mid-2023, have caused markets not to only price out the six rate cuts they had priced in up until the start of 2024, but, more recently, to also begin to question whether the Fed might forego rate cuts entirely in 2024.

In January, gold traded in a tight range of between USD 2,000 and USD 2,050 per oz. This tight trading range reflected a generally subdued trading environment – three-month implied volatilities fell to levels of around 10% – which is a relatively low level of volatility for the yellow metal.

Coming into 2024, here at UBP we hold a constructive view on the JPY. We anticipate that it will continue to appreciate over the course of the year, and we envisage a USD/JPY downward move to levels of around 135 by year-end, with risk skewed to the downside of this level. This represents a decline of at least 6% from current levels. Our generally constructive stance on JPY exchange rates reflects several factors.

2024 will be a strong year for gold. Our expectation of ongoing price increases for the yellow metal is driven by several factors, namely the global decline in inflation, weaker USD exchange rates, increasing concerns regarding US debt sustainability, central bank gold purchases, the resilience of gold trading, and ongoing geopolitical risks.

Confirmation that inflation is falling around the world could be the best news we get in 2024.