New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra recently observed that gold has replaced oil as the barometer of economic uncertainty. In an economic landscape clouded by uncertainty-tariff flip-flops, shaky supply chains, rising protectionism, declining dollar, simmering conflicts, and threatened trade relationships-the only constant is change.

Not surprisingly, investors are piling into gold. The price of gold has soared, and is now over $4,000 per ounce. What is surprising, though, is the opposite response of oil-the price of crude has dropped by more than 40% since early 2022, when it crossed $100 per barrel in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Oil markets do not seem to be pricing uncertainty in the s...