The spot gold price is experiencing one of the largest annual increases of this century, with a 27% increase in 2024, thanks to the loose monetary policy of the United States, ongoing geopolitical risks, and the buying frenzy of central banks around the world.

On Monday (December 30th), spot gold fluctuated around $2620, maintaining range movement during the shortened trading week of the holiday, waiting for further clues.

Despite a slight decline in gold prices since Donald Trump's big victory in the November US presidential election, its overall increase in 2024 still exceeds that of most other commodities. The performance of base metals is uneven, with a significant drop in iron ore prices and further deepening difficulties in the lithium market.

The various performance differences in 2024 indicate a lack of a single dominant factor to drive the fate of the entire industry, while also highlighting the potential direction of the base and precious metal markets in the coming year. Looking ahead to 2025, investors are concerned about the uncertainty of US monetary policy, the friction that may arise from Trump's presidency, and China's efforts to revitalize the economy.

Gold's strong performance this year - hitting new highs in a row - may indicate potential changes in market dynamics, especially in the context of the strengthening of the US dollar and the rise in the actual yield of US treasury bond bonds (usually the resistance of gold).

The performance of the gold market has been both astonishing and enduring, making it my biggest surprise for the market in 2024, "said David Scutt, an analyst at StoneX Group, in a report." The rules of the game in the gold market seem to have changed

The sluggish performance of other metals is largely due to the sustained slowdown of the Chinese economy.

The LMEX index for six metals on the London Metal Exchange is expected to achieve a slight annual growth, but weak demand in China is offset by supply pressures, particularly copper and zinc, which may continue into 2025.

Iron ore has plummeted amidst weak construction activity in China, plunging the world's largest steel industry into crisis with little sign of easing. Singapore futures prices are expected to decline by approximately 28% in 2024.

Lithium (used to manufacture batteries) has experienced a significant decline for the second consecutive year, and the global oversupply situation has further worsened due to the turbulence in the electric vehicle industry.