6 Gold Stocks to Buy as a Portfolio Hedge As the U.S. Dollar strengthens, now may not seem like the right time to buy gold stocks. Especially as the Federal Reserve appears likely to continue raising interest rates to combat inflation. Further rate hikes could send the U.S. Dollar Index, already at multi-year highs, even higher. The Fed’s interest rate hike has already put pressure on gold prices, as it has on other hedges to the dollar. Since beginning to raise rates in March, spot gold prices have sunk from over $2,000 an ounce to just under $1,800 per ounce. Still, that doesn’t mean you should avoid having any exposure to gold in your portfolio. In fact, it’s wise to have some exposure, as a hedge. Why? It’s possible that the current combination of monetary tightening and a slowdown in the economy could lead to stagflation . Stagflation is bad news for stocks, but good news for gold prices. As they can produce outsized returns relative to increases in the price of gold ( due to operating leverage ), adding some gold stocks (like these) to your portfolio can be a great stagflation hedge.