By Colin Kellaher

Byron Wien, vice chairman, and Joe Zidle, chief investment strategist, of Blackstone Inc.'s private wealth solutions group on Monday issued their annual list of 10 surprises.

Mr. Wien, who started the list in 1986, defines a surprise as an event that the average investor would only assign a one out of three chance of taking place but he believes has a better than 50% likelihood of happening.

This year's list includes several surprises in the commodities markets.

-- The price of gold rallies by 20% to a record high. Despite strong growth in the U.S., investors seek the perceived safety and inflation hedge of gold amid rising prices and volatility. Gold reclaims its title as a haven for newly minted billionaires, even as cryptocurrencies continue to gain market share.

-- While the major oil-producing countries conclude that high oil prices are speeding up the implementation of alternative energy programs and allowing U.S. shale producers to become profitable again, these countries can't increase production enough to meet demand. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude confounds forward curves and analyst forecasts when it rises above $100 a barrel.

-- The nuclear alternative for power generation enters the arena. Enough safety measures have been developed to reduce fears about its dangers, and the viability of nuclear power is widely acknowledged. A major nuclear site is approved for development in the Midwest of the U.S. Fusion technology emerges as a possible future source of energy.

-- In a setback to its green energy program, the U.S. finds it can't buy enough lithium batteries to power the electric vehicles planned for production. China controls the lithium market, as well as the markets for the cobalt and nickel used in making the transmission rods, and it opts to reserve most of the supply of these commodities for domestic use.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-03-22 1404ET