Gold’s rally meets JPMorgan warning as the curtain falls on 2019

Gold pushed deeper into the $1,500s in a concerted year-end rally as the dollar hit a six-month low. The jump came against a backdrop of record equity prices, easing trade tensions, and a warning from JPMorgan Asset Management that bullion may not offer sound portfolio protection.

Prices climbed for the sixth time in seven sessions, with the traditional haven set for the biggest annual gain since 2010. Gold is poised to close out a fifth quarter of gains, a feat that the commodity hasn't managed since 2011.

Gold has found renewed favor this month as investors position their portfolios for 2020. The White House's leading China hawk, trade adviser Peter Navarro, said a preliminary trade deal with Beijing is completed, potentially easing a source of tension. With global stocks near a record, and the Fed on alert to police any end-of-year funding squeeze, JPMorgan said some of gold's strength may have come from investors seeking protection against a potential sell-off -- something that it counseled against.

"People are starting to question how much further they have to run after that stellar 2019," Hannah Anderson, a global market strategist at JPMorgan, told Bloomberg TV, referring to gains in equities and fixed income. "Some investors are starting to wonder if gold is going to be the safety for their portfolio. Personally, I think investors probably want to rethink that consideration."