The bull market in gold, now in its ninth straight year, is more than one more commodity trading at higher levels—around $1,160 an ounce, as of Friday’s close. Gold being gold, it carries a range of emotional, financial and economic baggage.
That includes the embedded warning that the risk of instability, including future inflation and banking default, is still bubbling around the world as more than a distant threat. The biggest gold bull market in modern history is also stirring arguments anew in favor of returning monetary policy to a gold standard. As alluring as that might be in concept, in practice it would be unworkable in the long run.