What Precious Metals Act as Safe Havens, and When? Some US Evidence

Abstract

Gold’s role as a safe haven asset has been intensively studied in recent years. This paper extends the precious metals literature and examines the safe haven properties of four precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium) against US stock and bond declines. We also examine how these results change over time. Results suggest that during some periods silver, platinum and palladium act as safe havens when gold does not. In some periods one or more of the other assets acts a stronger safe haven than does gold.

Keywords: Safe Haven, gold, silver, platinum, palladium

JEL Classification: G10, G19