Gold, silver, and the US dollar as harbingers of financial calm and distress

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between gold, silver, and the US dollar returns and financial stress to shed light on the circumstances where these assets serve as attractive investment vehicles and whether the assets signal financial conditions ahead. Using weekly data from 1994 to 2020 and predictability-in-mean, predictability-in-variance, and predictability-in-distribution, we examine the relationship between returns on gold, silver, and the US dollar and the St Louis Financial Stress Index (STLFSI). While we find no Granger predictability in the mean between gold returns and the aggregate STLFSI, there is some evidence of Granger predictability between silver and US dollar returns and financial stress. However, test results show significant bidirectional Granger predictability in variance between STLFSI and gold, silver, and US dollar returns. Predictability-in-distribution tests generally show significant bidirectional relationships between financial stress and gold, silver, and US dollar returns at the left and right tail of the distribution. We confirm the safe-haven properties of gold, silver, and the US dollar and find novel evidence that very low returns on these assets signal financial calm, and unusually high returns signal high financial stress ahead. In this sense, extreme gold, silver, and US dollar returns are harbingers of calm times or financial distress to come, acting as early financial market news providing risk guideposts for safety.