By Stan Choe
Associated Press
Gold is back on the rise after dropping like lead last year. Although it has recovered just a portion of its steep loss from 2013, the shift in momentum has been enough to halt the stampede of investors from gold-related funds.
The price of gold has jumped 14 percent this year, towering over the nearly flat performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. The stocks of gold-mining companies have been even better. The FTSE Gold Mines index of miners around the world has jumped 25 percent. It’s a welcome change for anyone who stuck with the precious metal throughout 2013, when its price sank 28 percent. It was the first down year for gold in more than a decade and its biggest loss since Muhammad Ali last boxed in 1981.