Gold finished the year at $2,063 an ounce, climbing more than 13% in 2023 for its first annual gain in three years, and logging a new record high within the year mostly supported by expectations that the major central banks will start cutting interest rates early next year. After implementing an aggressive rate-hiking cycle that started in early 2022, the US Federal Reserve is now expected to begin easing as soon as next March amid signs that inflation in the US is cooling. Moreover, heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the prospect of a prolonged war in Gaza spurred safe-haven demand for gold.
