Looking at the history of gold prices plummeting, I wonder if this U.S. election might trigger the sixth wave?

In fact, significant corrections in gold prices are not uncommon. The most recent was in the second half of 2016, when gold prices dropped 16.6% in just six months. At that time, investors generally expected the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, and the global economy seemed to be doing well, so many started selling gold and shifting to other assets.

Going further back, from 2012 to 2015, gold prices fell even more sharply, by as much as 39%. During that period, there was a famous 80-ton gold scam case. After a sharp drop in gold prices in April 2013, large amounts of capital flooded into the stock and real estate markets, and demand for gold investment significantly shrank.

The 2008 financial crisis was also quite severe, with gold prices falling 29.5% from March to October in just seven months. The subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis followed one after another, capital was heavily withdrawn, and the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates, making it impossible for gold prices to hold up.

Looking even further back, the biggest plunge in gold prices occurred in the early 1980s. From 1980 to 1982, gold prices fell by a full 58.2%. To combat inflation, the U.S. and other developed countries began tightening policies, and with the oil crisis gradually easing, safe-haven demand dropped significantly. Then, from 1983 to 1985, there was another 41.35% decline, as the international economy entered a period of major easing, and the economies of developed countries started to prosper, naturally weakening gold demand.

These historical gold crashes share a common logic: improving economic conditions, fading safe-haven sentiment, and shifting capital flows. Will the current situation follow this pattern? We’ll have to wait and see.