Laurent Maurel

After several weeks of consolidation and a technical breakout that had convinced many market participants that gold’s bull cycle was over, the yellow metal has just gained nearly $240 in just a few trading sessions. This move warrants close attention, as it appears to reflect much more than a sim...

On the one hand, rising oil prices are pushing up inflation expectations and supporting bond yields, which is temporarily weighing on gold. On the other hand, a prolonged energy crisis is simultaneously undermining growth, financial markets, and several banking systems that are already under pres...

While the market is pinning its hopes for growth on a handful of artificial intelligence (AI) giants, central banks continue to increase their exposure to gold, one of the oldest assets in financial history.

Historically, gold does not react immediately to the onset of tech or financial bubbles. In the early phases of euphoria, capital favors high-growth assets, momentum strategies, and leveraged sectors. Gold then appears “useless,” yielding nothing, and often lagging behind.

For several weeks now, the market has been behaving as if everything is finally going to “work out.” And this is no longer just the isolated view of a few sell-side strategists: it has now become a widely held consensus among global investors.

Today, the price of gold is rising primarily as a sign of gradual currency depreciation. Tomorrow, it could rise as a safe-haven asset amid systemic uncertainty.

If the AI boom continues to drive the system toward greater leverage, energy dependence, and credit fragility, gold and precious metals could once again become one of the few assets capable of protecting investors against a downturn in the technology cycle and the credit market.

The silver market is shifting into a much tighter situation than it appears at first glance. Behind the sometimes erratic fluctuations in futures prices, the physical market continues to tighten — slowly but surely.

The market continues to display a price… but fewer and fewer participants are willing to honor it in practice. The link between paper and reality is fraying, revealing an increasingly visible divide.

The latest inflation figures suggest a resurgence of inflationary pressure. Producer prices rose by 0.5% over the month, bringing the annual rate to 4.0%. Against an already tense backdrop in the energy sector, figures like these are enough to fuel the narrative that inflation is on the rise agai...

As is often the case, the market today gives the illusion of control. But beneath the surface, the forces driving instability continue to build up.

The oil market is entering a phase where volatility is no longer a mere hiccup but a direct consequence of its structure. Recent price movements do not reflect a linear improvement or deterioration in fundamentals, but rather a growing inability of prices to simultaneously reflect both physical r...

The price of gold is currently under pressure, not because its fundamentals are being called into question, but due to forced selling.

While equity markets remain artificially propped up by low volatility, gold is consolidating. This phase does not reflect weakness, but rather a period of accumulation.

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's main energy arteries, is partially paralyzed. Even so, the price of gold is showing little reaction to the extreme volatility of oil prices. It remains focused on a deeper dynamic within the financial system: that of credit.

The gap between the euphoria in the equity markets and the first cracks emerging in certain areas of credit is striking. In this environment, gold plays the role of an insurance against a financial accident or a sudden reversal in liquidity.

What we are experiencing today goes beyond mere technological euphoria or fears of sector disruption. The AI cycle reveals a paradox: as intelligence becomes increasingly dematerialized, markets are rediscovering the value of the tangible.

Major technology stocks are showing signs of running out of steam. Conversely, flows into gold are taking on an almost parabolic momentum. Central banks are continuing their purchases, and ETFs are setting new records.

The downturn is now global and simultaneous: US consumption is running out of steam, unemployment is rising in Europe, household and business confidence is collapsing in China, while defaults are increasing and bond flows betray a growing flight for safety.

The stress observed in cryptocurrencies and silver is not a mere epiphenomenon: it is the first sign of a market regime that is beginning to strain beneath the surface.