Gold's Role as Capital Anchor Grows Amid Data-Center Power Boom
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The IEA projects global data-center power consumption will more than double to roughly 945 TWh by 2030, exceeding Japan's current usage. This accelerating demand is forcing utilities and investors to front-load massive capital expenditure well ahead of returns.
Legal and insurance risk around this build-out is also climbing, with data-center lawsuits more than tripling since 2021 amid planning disputes and community pushback, according to Howden.
As capital gets locked into long-duration, higher-risk infrastructure bets, gold's low correlation to equities and its liquidity profile keep XAU/USD attractive for investors seeking a stable counterweight amid this structurally uncertain capex cycle.