Gold has recently established a structural floor around $4,000 per ounce, even following a sharp correction from new highs. That persistence signals a definitive change in what underpins the market. The drivers are increasingly structural with mine output growing at its slowest pace in a decade, extraction costs rising, and exploration capital retreating. Together they form a scarcity premium embedded in price stability. Unlike previous cycles defined by liquidity and monetary policy, 2025’s gold market reflects the fundamentals of constrained supply. The world’s largest producers are managing aging deposits and ... (full story)