Global Head of the World Gold Council, Juan Carlos Artigas, has painted a ‘glittering’ picture of the performance of the gold sector in 2023 whilst asserting that the precious metal will also retain what he says is a “strong strategic advantage” in 2024. “Gold defied expectations in 2023,” Artigas asserted in his assessment of the performance of the sector, “outperforming commodities, fixed income and many global stock markets.” Artigas reports that the performance of the precious metal last year had “caught the world by surprise.” Prices he declared had reached all-time highs, topping out at over $2,100/oz in early December. The performance of gold last year, he added had “caused some market participants to predict that the only way is down.” However the World Gold Council boss says in his assessment that the outlook for this year will be more “nuanced” since it remains “anchored in many of the drivers of its positive performance in recent years as well as new, emerging risk factors.”