New Delhi, Jan. 28 -- BAD NEWS is good news for the price of gold. These days good news is good news, too. As President Donald Trump's threats against America's European allies intensified, the price of the yellow metal surged. When he abandoned those threats, it kept rising. It is already up by more than 17% this year, rising to above $5,000 per ounce for the first time ever on January 26th. It is not February yet and gold has already shot through many analysts' forecasts for the end of 2026.

The asset is at the centre of the so-called debasement trade, whereby investors worried about fiscal splurges, fraught geopolitics and the collapse of institutional norms sell government bonds and dollars, turning instead to one of the oldest asset...