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Gold recently reached its record value after Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserve chairman, testified in front of the congress and expressed his positive stance towards potential interest rate cuts this year. The recent gains were fueled by investors increasingly placing bets on monetary policy easing that could happen as soon as June. At the end of the last year, gold prices climbed above $2,000 and remained there as of March, 2024*. Gold demand remains high also due to central banks buying it out as a hedge against inflation.

Switzerland has a reputation around the world as a safe haven where investors withdraw their liquidity in turbulent times to protect them from the choppy waters of the financial markets. A number of assets and stock titles offer interesting opportunities even in calm times and over the long term. Let's take a look at how you can invest in assets that are "at home" in Switzerland.

According to the prognosis by Wood Mackenzie, a global energy research company, oil demand should grow by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) during 2024. However, forecasts differ depending on factors such as fossil fuel reduction agreements, decisions of the biggest oil suppliers about oil outputs as well as geopolitical tensions. Middle east conflict in the last couple months have driven oil prices upwards but they somewhat stabilized amid weaker global demand and full inventories especially in the US.

American corn farmers misjudged the market last year, when they anticipated hot summer which would result in scarce harvest. Despite drought during May and June of 2023, crops eventually survived thanks to the later rainy weather which led to overflowing storages in South America and the US. Farmers are now regretting not selling the corn when the prices were up. With global competition increasing in addition to oversupply, corn prices are now plummeting, erasing all the gains they made in the last few years.

According to Eurostat, in December 2023, the Eurozone achieved a trade surplus of approximately €16.8 billion ($18.14 billion), marking a significant turnaround from the €8.5 billion ($9.18 billion) deficit recorded in the same period the previous year despite not meeting market expectations of a €21.5 billion ($23 billion) surplus. Nevertheless, this transformation stemmed from a concerted effort to rein in imports across all sectors, even though exports experienced a slight dip, particularly to crucial trading partners.