In 2021, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago analyzed what they thought were the main factors behind gold prices since 1971. What they found is that all of these sort of rubrics we have about how gold prices should react to things like inflation, war, or real interest rates seem to hold up. But it only really works as a specific inflation hedge in the scenario in which policymakers and central bankers don't jump into action. And that's exactly what we've seen over the last couple of years.