Gold and silver have been strong recently, with upward trends and increased volatility. Reference [1] studies the price dynamics of leading precious metals, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, over the period from December 9, 2019, to March 1, 2026, dividing the sample into pre- and post-COVID subperiods. The study employs Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) to estimate the generalized Hurst exponent, the magnitude of long memory, and return predictability.
The author pointed out,
The results based on the GHE estimates reveal that the selected precious metals exhibited varying degrees of multifractal properties throughout the sample period. The intensities of multifractal structures differ from coronavirus to its aftermath, but the trend is less pronounced for the latter phases of COVID-19 pandemic, except for gold. Additionally, the same attitude is not relevant for market efficiency where the herd-driven behavior strictly decreased for silver, platinum, and palladium after the outbreak but the market became increasingly inefficient for each asset. Therefore, the degree of herding behavior and market inefficiency differed markedly between the two sub-periods. It is noteworthy that changes in the average values of the multifractal spectrum indicate an increase in multifractality only for gold during the post-pandemic period. This means that the latter phase appears to have intensified herding behavior and market inefficiency in gold transactions. However, the MLM-based inefficiency index indicated that all selected assets became less efficient in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic. Within this framework, following the coronavirus disease, the returns of silver, platinum, and palladium - excluding gold – became increasingly predictable, indirectly suggesting reduced volatility.
…In line with the multifractal spectrum results, the evaluation of post-COVID-19 changes in herding behavior through the fractal dimension scale indicates that, during the given period in the precious metals market, herding increased only in gold, while the rest of the metal assets exhibited a decline in herding tendencies…In addition, the rise in the inefficiency index for all precious metals between the two periods indicates that they were exposed to wider market-wide effects related to transaction volumes.
A key contribution of the paper is the separation of herding behavior, measured by the Hurst exponent, from market inefficiency, measured by an inefficiency index, along with the construction of a predictability index.
The results show that gold exhibits stronger herding post-COVID, while other metals show weaker herding, although all markets become more inefficient. In terms of predictability, silver, platinum, and palladium become more predictable post-COVID, whereas gold does not.
This is a noteworthy contribution, showing that the precious metal market does not follow a random walk, that structure has changed after COVID, and that gold behaves differently from other metals, providing useful insights for portfolio and risk management.
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References
[1] Özdemir, O. (2026). Herding, Market Efficiency, and the Melting Pot Effect: Evidence from the Precious Metals Market. Preprints.org.
Article Source Here: Multifractal Analysis of Herding and Inefficiency in Precious Metals
source https://harbourfronts.com/multifractal-analysis-herding-inefficiency-precious-metals/