Commodities from gold to industrial metals moved higher through 2026 — and AJ Bell asks whether resources are back in fashion as investors diversify away from the all-consuming AI trade. The emerging "HALO" theme — Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence — covers assets no AI model can replicate.
Gold, with essentially zero industrial demand, hit an all-time high of $5,600 an ounce at the start of 2026. Oxford Economics still expects it to average around $4,515 this year, while BlackRock's mining trust managers say the sector sits in the "foothills" of its next big cycle.
