Gold climbed to a three-month high to clinch its best annual performance since 2010, as a weaker dollar helped cap a year marked by global economic jitters and trade frictions.<\/p>\n
Bullion has gained 19% this year as central banks globally embraced looser monetary policy to boost growth.<\/p>\n
Brexit, unrest in regions from Chile to Hong Kong and buying sprees from key central banks and exchange-traded funds have also helped support prices.<\/p>\n
Spot gold climbed as much as 0.7% to $1,525.38 an ounce on Tuesday, the highest since Sept. 25, and traded at $1,521.20 by 7:35 a.m. in New York.<\/p>\n
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell to the lowest since June.<\/p>\n
Still, some analysts doubt that gold\u2019s strength will stick next year and JPMorgan Asset Management cautioned that bullion may not offer sound portfolio protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are very few certain environments in which gold does well, and it\u2019s not necessarily the case that 2020 won\u2019t be any of those,\u201d Hannah Anderson, a global market strategist at JPMorgan, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next downturn, I do believe that bonds still could be defensive assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
JPMorgan has come out this month to make the case for a risk-on investment allocation for 2020 as the global economy gathers momentum in the wake of the recent slowdown.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, data showed China\u2019s manufacturing sector continued to expand output in December, adding to evidence that the world\u2019s second-largest economy is stabilizing.<\/p>\n
Commentary out of China and the US suggest that both countries are committed to their phase-one trade pact. However, haven asset demand in 2020 could be supported by other brewing global tensions, DailyFX strategist David Song said in a note.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe threat of a U.S.-EU trade war may become a greater concern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In other precious metals, silver has risen 16% this year, also poised for its best performance since 2010. Platinum is up 22% and top-performer palladium is set to end 2019 with an annual gain of 52%.<\/p>\n