Copper, gold and yen, the aces of the portfolio in 2025
The yellow metal is an antidote to uncertainty, copper the asset for the energy transition, the yen can benefit from rising rates
3' min read
Key points
3' min read
Gold and copper are the aces in the sleeve of many managers for 2025. The yellow metal because it is the safe haven asset par excellence, has returned to the coffers of central banks - China's first and foremost - and defends against rising inflation, which remains to be monitored in the US. Copper because it is fundamental in goods and industrial plants that are indispensable for the energy transition.
Demand push
.The managers of Fineco Asset Management, who consider gold and copper to be the best options for the commodities component of the portfolio, are convinced of this. Indeed, according to Fineco AM, gold remains the quintessential safe-haven asset, because it resists economic uncertainties and geopolitical risks. In addition to this security value, gold has the advantage of scarcity in the face of expanding central bank reserves and remains a strategic asset for portfolio diversification. Copper, on the other hand, is a long-term choice, in spite of price tensions, as it is widely used in the construction of electric vehicles and the modernisation of electricity grids, and demand is expected to outstrip supply, a factor favourable to higher prices.
Oil, however, does not completely lose its attractiveness. It is not so much the demand that makes it attractive, although the Chinese stimulus that is gradually becoming more concrete is improving the outlook for consumption. Symphonia Sgr, in fact, points out that crude oil can have above all a portfolio hedging function for the consequences of conflicts in the Middle East that could have an impact on the price.
Portfolio strategies on commodities are closely linked to the valuation of currencies and, in particular, of the US dollar, the currency of denomination and trade of commodities.
Dollar tonic, but opportunities on euro
The trump card of 2024 is the US currency, which enjoys the strength of the US economy as well as its tonic inflation. The gap between the still roaring US cycle and the asphyxiated European one has strengthened the dollar (on Thursday, at the close of Plus24, it needed $1.04 to buy one euro). In addition, the greenback has always played the role of a safe haven asset in times of uncertainty, such as the current one.
