Hedge fund manager Einhorn sees upside for gold and inflation

A hot streak for gold helped fuel a strong start to the year for Greenlight Capital, and hedge fund manager David Einhorn said Wednesday he still sees more upside for the yellow metal.

The price of spot gold has surged more than 20% this year, with most of those gains coming in the first quarter. Einhorn, the president of Greenlight, told CNBC’s Scott Wapner that his long-term case for gold is still intact and that the commodity can continue to go higher.

“Gold is about the confidence in the fiscal policy and the monetary policy. And since we bought gold in 2008 or so, it’s been very clear to me that the U.S. fiscal and monetary policies are both too aggressive and create a risk,” Einhorn said.

Einhorn pointed to the meager cost-cuts from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, relative to the size of the federal government’s budget, as a sign that the fiscal situation is unlikely to change any time soon.

“There’s a bipartisan agreement to do nothing about the deficit until we actually get to the next crisis,” Einhorn said.

The hedge fund manager said that gold and other defensive positions have helped Greenlight have a strong start to the year. Reuters reported in April that Greenlight gained 8.2% in the first quarter, citing an investor letter. The S&P 500 fell more than 4% during the same period.

Einhorn did clarify that he does not view gold as an inflation bet. However, in a related trade, Einhorn said he has positions on long-duration inflation swaps, which serve as a bet that prices will rise faster than the market expects.

“All of these behaviors ultimately lead to inflation, and higher inflation,” Einhorn said.

The comments came on the sidelines of the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, where Einhorn had earlier unveiled his new investment in a German chemical company.