Gold's Changing Role: Central-Bank Buying and De-Dollarization Emerge as Key Drivers

At the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado on September 22, Sprott managing partner John Hathaway and Incrementum partner Ronald-Peter Stöferle discussed a potential shift in the gold market. They pointed to persistent central-bank buying and de-dollarization as factors contributing to this change.

Traditionally, gold has been inversely related to bonds, but Hathaway and Stöferle argue that this relationship is evolving. They cited gold's ability since 2022 to rise even as bond yields climbed as evidence of a structural shift rather than just another cyclical bull market.

The key question for investors, according to Stöferle, is whether gold is in a normal cycle or a broader 'remonetization cycle'. He believes the evidence increasingly supports the latter. Hathaway noted that weakening confidence in fixed income as a safe haven is contributing to this change in relationship between gold and bonds.

The speakers also emphasized that institutional and retail participation in gold remains remarkably low, leaving significant room for capital to move into bullion and mining shares if traditional portfolios begin shifting away from bonds. Gold miners are undervalued despite stronger balance sheets, margins, and cash flow than a decade ago.