Exploring the hedging ability of precious metals through a novel perspective is crucial for better investment. This investigation applies the wavelet technique to study the complicated correlation between global economic policy uncertainty (GEPU) and the prices of precious metals. The empirical outcomes suggest that GEPU exerts positive influences on the prices of precious metals, indicating that precious metals could hedge against global economic policy uncertainty, which is supported by the inter-temporal capital asset pricing model (ICAPM). Among them, gold is better for long-term investment than silver, which is more suitable for the short run in recent years, while platinum’s hedging ability is virtually non-existent after the global trade wars. Conversely, the positive influences from gold price on GEPU underline that the gold market plays a prospective role in the situation of economic policies worldwide, which does not exist in the silver market. Besides, the effects of platinum price on GEPU change from positive to negative, suggesting that the underlying cause of its forward-looking effect on GEPU alters from the investment value to the industrial one. In the context of the increasing instability of global economic policies, the above conclusions could offer significant lessons to both investors and governments.

Enhancing green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) is crucial for achieving sustainable development. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the impact of fintech on GTFEE, using annual data from 240 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2021. Methodologically, we employ the SBM–Malmquist–Luenberger model to measure GTFEE and assess the role of fintech. The results demonstrate that fintech significantly promotes GTFEE, a finding that remains robust after addressing endogeneity issues and replacing key variables. Further mechanism analysis reveals that fintech facilitates GTFEE by alleviating financing constraints and stimulating technological innovation. Moreover, the effect is particularly pronounced in eastern regions, non-resource-based cities, service-oriented cities, and larger urban areas. Importantly, quantile regression results confirm that fintech exerts a stronger positive impact at higher quantiles of the GTFEE distribution. These findings offer both theoretical insights and practical policy implications for advancing energy efficiency through fintech development.

Improving the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) is an important way to adhere to sustainable development. This paper evaluates the impact of fintech on GTFEE based on an SBM-Malmquist-Luenberger model with annual data from 2011 to 2021 of 240 cities in China. The findings reveal that fintech can significantly promote GTFEE and the conclusion remains robust after conducting the endogeneity test and substituting the independent and dependent variables. Specifically, the mechanism analysis indicates that fintech can improve GTFEE by alleviating financing constraints and promoting technological innovation. What’s more, fintech significantly enhances GTFEE in eastern China, non-resource-based cities, service cities, and larger-sized urban centers. This study provides valuable policy implications for promoting the energy efficiency.