Even though gold has traditionally been a "safe" investment asset during troubled times, it hadn't lived up to that reputation for much of 2022.
It's yet another strange occurrence in a strange year when shares and bonds, which normally perform opposite to one another, both did poorly.
But the last month has seen the gold price finally rally.
It's now reached break-even point from the start of the year, with more than one expert predicting it will zoom ahead in 2023 as the world plunges into recession.
The analysts at Celeste Funds Management are some of the many professionals tipping ASX gold shares at the moment.
These are two that the team mentioned in a memo to clients this week:
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'Low-cost gold exposure'
The Celeste team holds a pair of ASX gold shares that performed outstandingly in November.
"A weakening US dollar saw a rebound in the gold price, as miners Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) and Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) rallied 9.0% and 29.2% respectively over the month."
According to the memo, both stocks provide investors with "low-cost gold exposure".
Both are reputable companies that "operate in tier-1 mining jurisdictions and are led by experienced management teams".
The Gold Road share price is almost 10% higher than where it started this year, now boasting a $1.86 billion market capitalisation.
In contrast, Silver Lake shares are 25.7% lower year to date, which gives the ASX gold share a current market cap of $1.22 billion.
Already productive but with growth potential
The Celeste team believes Silver Lake has both already-productive assets and a site with future potential.
"We are attracted to the production growth out of Silver Lake's Mount Monger and Deflector assets while their recently acquired Sugar Zone mine provides strong upside."
Gold Road also has a similar two-pronged advantage.
"Gold Road presents an attractive growth profile through increasing grade at Gruyere, and their investment in De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) offers significant growth optionality."
According to CMC Markets, seven out of 10 analysts that cover Gold Road currently rate the stock as a strong buy.
Silver Lake has five professionals urging a strong buy out of a field of seven.
