Gold price declined despite the US credit rating being downgraded by a rating agency. This contrasts with the way Gold reacted to the first US rating downgrade around twelve years ago when the Gold price posted a record level of $1,920 just a few weeks later that was not exceeded until the summer of 2020. At that time, however, Gold had already been on an upward trajectory for over a year that had entered its final phase as a result of the rating downgrade. 

The current situation is hardly comparable: this year’s high was already achieved three months ago, and the Gold price has been trending sideways since mid-May. The marked rise in yields sparked by the rating downgrade has even generated headwind, as has the fact that the US Dollar appeared unimpressed and actually appreciated.