(The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist

for Reuters.)

By Clyde Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, July 3 (Reuters) - Is gold the

next metal to be added to the list of "critical minerals"?

Gold is not a vital component of advanced manufacturing like

other critical minerals such as rare earths, lithium and copper.

But the precious metal appears to be undergoing a subtle

shift in how it is viewed by governments and investors.

Since countries moved away from the gold standard by the

early 1970s, gold has largely been viewed as a relatively niche

part of investment portfolios and government reserves.

Gold was something that was added to portfolios as an

inflation hedge or during times of heightened geopolitical

tensions.

In some ways, the role of gold in both central bank and

investment portfolios was overtaken by bonds, with U.S.

Treasuries becoming the most important of these assets.

But the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency is

leading to a global reassessment of the relative safety of U.S.

assets, the independence of the Federal Reserve and the likely

worsening of the U.S. fiscal position.

Add in Trump's attacks on the rule of law in the United

States and the likely hit to both the U.S. and global economies

from his trade policies, and the stage is set for a reevaluation

of the role of gold.

The precious metal has gained 32.3% from a low of $2,536.71

an ounce hit on November 14 in the days after Trump's victory

over his Democratic Party rival, former Vice President Kamala

Harris.

It reached a record high of $3,500.05 an ounce on April 22,

and has since retreated slightly to close at $3,357.08 on

Wednesday.

While gold's day-to-day moves are still largely driven by

the news cycle, the overall backdrop looks supportive.

The World Gold Council released a report last month in which

it surveyed 73 central banks, and 95% of them expected the

official sector to increase holdings in the coming 12 months.

"This is a record high since it was first tracked in the

2019 survey and represents a 17% increase from the 2024

findings," the council said.

Central banks are also moving to repatriate more of their

holdings back to their home countries and away from the United

States, a further sign that there is a loss of confidence in

U.S. assets and the policies of the Trump administration.

Gold is also well-placed as one of the few viable

alternatives if more governments, fund managers and private

investors outside the United States form the view that the era

of U.S. exceptionalism is over and that U.S. Treasuries are now

a riskier asset as the country's fiscal position deteriorates.

MINING COMPANIES

Another factor that is showing the positive story for gold

is the performance of gold mining equities.

Major gold producers have seen their share prices rise at a

far faster pace than the actual metal.

There are several reasons why this could be the case,

including the expectation that shareholders will receive higher

dividend payouts in the future and that companies are being

rewarded for showing capital discipline in prior years.

But it also may be that investors are starting to re-rate

gold mining companies in the expectation that gold becomes a

more vital and larger part of portfolios, both public and

private.

For example, shares in Newmont ( NEM ), the world's largest

listed gold miner, have risen 63% from their most recent low on

December 30 to close at $60.06 on Wednesday.

Canada's Barrick Mining ( B ) has seen its shares gain

40.6% in U.S. dollar terms from its recent low on December 19 to

the close on Wednesday.

Anglogold Ashanti ( AU ) shares in New York have surged 108%

from the low on December 30 to the close of $46.66 on Wednesday,

while Gold Fields has seen a gain of 88% in U.S. dollar

terms from its November 14 low to the close on Wednesday.

If gold does become a more central part of investment

strategies, the listed miners are likely to become more

attractive, given the difficulty of finding and developing new

projects and the long time between exploration and production.

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The views expressed here are those of the author, a

columnist for Reuters.

(Editing by Jamie Freed)