Remember, remember, gold in September

In W. S. Merwin’s poem “To the Light of September,” the speaker calls the ninth month “still summer,” yet with a “glint of bronze in the chill mornings.” But in the investing world, when we talk about September, there’s a glint not of bronze but another precious metal: gold.

That’s because September is historically gold’s best-performing month of the year, returning 2.16% on average since 1969. We’re only a few days into the month, and so far spot prices have dropped about 1.6%. But this is completely in line with gold’s normal behavior.

There are several seasonal factors that explain why gold glitters a little more brightly in September.