Gold price turned sharply lower - International Monetary Fund (IMF), which raised its projections for global growth – to 3.5% from 3.3% in 2012

The gold price turned sharply lower Tuesday morning, tumbling from as high as $1,658 to $1,635.83 per ounce.  The price of gold retreated as the “risk-on” trade in financial markets resumed, with stocks and cyclical commodities heading north.  The markets’ advance was fueled by a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which raised its projections for global growth – to 3.5% from 3.3% in 2012 and to 4.1% from 4.0% in 2013.

With today’s gold price sell-off, the yellow metal is now more than 14% below its $1,922 all-time high reached in September 2011.  Gold shares have performed even worse than the price of gold, as the XAU remains more than 27% below the 52-week high it also reached in September of last year.

Looking ahead, if the latest IMF growth forecast materializes, platinum could continue to outperform the price of gold.  Platinum’s dual role as a precious and industrial metal would allow it to benefit more so than the gold price from an improved outlook for the global economy.  Furthermore, investment demand for cyclically-sensitive asset classes, such as platinum, would likely increase in such an environment.

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