Chasing El Dorado: gold under shifting geopolitical and financial conditions

Rafael Guerra and Gabriel Zelpo

No 1380, BIS Working Papers from Bank for International Settlements

Abstract: This paper analyses the state-dependent effects of geopolitical risks on gold prices (i.e. the safe-haven role of gold), conditional on financial conditions. Geopolitical risks are often associated with tighter financial conditions. However, recent data reveal a decoupling be tween such shocks and more restrictive financial conditions, raising the question of how gold returns are affected by geopolitical shocks, conditional on the macro-financial environment. Using monthly data from 1990 to 2026, we find that increases in geopolitical risks– both geopolitical threats and realised events– increase gold returns, with stronger effects ob served during periods of loose financial conditions. We decompose this relationship into two mechanisms: (i) the credit and liquidity risk channel and (ii) the opportunity cost channel. Our findings indicate that the relationship operates most clearly through the first channel, suggesting that the key factor is investors’ capacity to rebalance, while the evidence for the second channel is less conclusive. Finally, we also find that the largest impact occurs when periods of loose financial conditions are compounded with periods of geopolitical escala tions, as seen in 2024–26. These insights highlight the relevance of understanding gold as a safe-haven asset amid complex macro-financial conditions.

Keywords: gold prices; geopolitical risk; financial conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E44 F51 G12 G15 Q02 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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