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29 March 2024

Gold rises despite Soros sell-off

Published
By Vicky Kapur

Spot gold prices rose more than $13 an ounce in early trade today to levels above $1490 per ounce despite news that billionaire investor George Soros liquidated almost all of his gold holdings in the first quarter of 2011.

Soros, who last year famously called gold “the ultimate bubble” but had been accumulating investments in the yellow metal until recently dumped almost his entire $800m stake in bullion in the first quarter.

According to reports, the billionaire investor, who has been bullish on gold in the past several years, cut his holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust to just $6.9m by the end of first quarter, compared with $655m in December, becoming the most high-profile investors to turn his back on one of the market’s best-performing assets.

Gold prices peaked at the start of this month, reaching a record $1,575 an ounce on May 2, but since declined over six per cent to $1,477.85 yesterday amid the biggest commodities slump since late 2008, a move that has been partly attributed to the Soros sell-off.

However, prices are seen stabilizing this morning and gold prices are now up to $1,492.15 per ounce at 11:15am UAE time, shrugging the Soros sell-off and rising by almost 1 per cent.