Gold prices have seen a significant decrease of $220 per troy ounce, or 8%, since late October, despite a year-to-date increase of over 25%. This decline is attributed to the possibility of a second term for Donald Trump, which has led to a shift away from safe-haven assets like gold towards riskier investments, particularly those in dollars.

The situation has been further exacerbated by a 5% rise in gold prices for non-US investors. Recent data shows that there have been substantial outflows from major US physical gold exchange-traded funds, amounting to over $1.4 billion, or around 20 metric tons. Additionally, China"s central bank has not increased its gold reserves in the past six months, indicating a reluctance to engage at current price levels. It is worth noting that there were no gold exports to China in August, the first time in over three years, according to Swiss Federal Customs Administration data.

Analysts from Deutsche Bank have observed that concerns about US credit risk have diminished, as evidenced by tighter corporate and high-yield bond spreads. This shift in investor sentiment contrasts with the pre-election fears that had previously driven gold prices higher.