What's the Future for Gold?

The gold thesis is falling apart. Inflation hasn't hit the U.S. hard, the dollar is holding its value well, and the economy is in the midst of a steady recovery, which blows away most of the reasons people buy gold. SPDR Gold Shares dropped 26% last year while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 26%.

What's worse is that bullish drivers are evaporating. The federal budget deficit is dropping, the Fed is slowing its money printing, and the economy is doing well, which is all bad for gold.

While gold itself has had a tough run, miners are doing even worse. Goldcorp and Barrick Gold Corporation nearly doubled the losses of gold. Gold producers are leveraged to the price of gold, so if it falls low enough, they could be out of business in a heartbeat.

Erin Miller sat down with contributor Travis Hoium to see what the future holds for gold.

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The article What's the Future for Gold? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Erin Miller has no position in any stocks mentioned. Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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