The Asian financial crisis of 1997 toppled currencies across the region and rattled global markets. Counterintuitively, gold did not benefit: capital fled to the soaring US dollar rather than to bullion, and the era's relentless central-bank selling capped any rally. Gold sank toward the bottom of its two-decade bear market, just ahead of the 1999 low and the Washington Agreement that would finally steady the market.
Key events of 1997
- 1997-07-02
Asian financial crisis
Currency collapses sweep Asia; capital flees to the dollar, not gold.