How this gold bull market stacks up to others — and why it may be getting too hot

Gold just won't stop going higher. The metal this week topped $4,000 per ounce for the first time, bringing its year-to-date gain to more than 50%. That advance is easily outpacing the S & P 500's 14.5% jump. The move this week put gold up around 150% for its bull run, which began in October 2022. And while that is below the average gain seen during previous bull markets for the previous metal — 293% since 1970, per Bank of America — it has come during a shorter time span. Bull markets for gold last on average 43 months, BofA noted; the current one has gone on for 36 months. Several factors have fueled the gold rally, including easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, a decline in the U.S. dollar and the so-called debasement trade . But BofA strategist Michael Hartnett thinks the m