Trade in Gold was rather uninteresting yesterday

Trade in Gold was rather uninteresting yesterday. Bernanke’s testimony to the House Budget Committee did spark some volatility, although ultimately prices ended the day mostly flat. As expected, Bernanke’s statement revealed nothing new about the Fed’s stance on the US economic recovery and its commitment to monetary accommodation.

Although risk appetite appears to waning, investment demand for precious metals is not forthcoming. Physical demand too, especially in Asia, remains on the sidelines. With little buying to counter it, a resurgence in the dollar is pulling the complex down, exacerbated by some light profit-taking. Perhaps the lack of interest in China, after the return from holidays, is also contributing to investor unease. While we only expect a pick-up in Chinese trading from Monday, we would caution that there is a risk that this will disappoint.

As always US jobless claims data might prompt some price action, with disappointing numbers providing limited lift. Gold support is at $1,357 and $1,352. Resistance is at $1,367 and $1,372.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gold edges up on weaker dollar, dovish U.S. Fed policy bets

Image
 Gold edged higher on Monday, helped by a weaker dollar and expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will reiterate its dovish monetary policy stance this week. Spot gold was up by 0.1% at $1,943.58 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,950.10 per ounce. “Gold is firm on the basis that the Fed could adopt a further dovish message with respect to average inflation targeting,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. “If you want to have a policy of average inflation targeting, you’re going to have to go into detail as to how you are going to arrive at that particular outcome.” The dollar retreated on Mond ay, bolstering gold’s appeal for investors holding other currencies, ahead of the Fed’s policy decision due on Wednesday. “If inflation forecasts remain at 2% or below, this could offer gold a tailwind as the zero-yielding metal thrives in a low-interest rate environment,” said FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga. Market participants are also wai...
Read more

The price of gold advanced as high as $1,603.40 per ounc

Image
The gold price broke out to a new all-time high above $1,600 per ounce Monday morning, rising for the eleventh consecutive trading session. The price of gold advanced as high as $1,603.40 per ounce before backing off to trade just the $1,600 level. The yellow metal gained on the back of a surge in borrowing costs for Italy, the latest European nation to see its bond market come under heavy selling pressure. The lack of a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling also helped boost gold prices. The eleven-day rise in the gold price is the longest winning streak since January of 1980. The gold price delivered another noteworthy performance last week, climbing 3.2% on its way to a series of fresh record highs. With Monday’s advance, the gold price extended its monthly and year-to-date gains to 6.6% and 12.5%, respectively. Last week’s two-day Congressional testimony by Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economy and monetary policy revealed that the Fed remains open to the...
Read more

Disappointing non-farm payrolls data - Gold price back to 1,600 Level

Image
The gold price surged higher Friday morning, by $49.77, or 3.2%, to $1,612.48 per ounce following a very disappointing report on the U.S. labor market.  The spot price of gold hovered near $1,550 in overnight trading, but turned sharply upwards following the worse than expected non-farm payrolls report for May. The May employment report showed that the U.S. economy added only 69,000 jobs, far below the 150,000 consensus estimate among economists and even less than the lowest forecast of 75,000.  Furthermore, the April non-farm payrolls figure was revised downward from 115,000 to 77,000 while the March data was cut from 154,000 to 143,000.  As for the unemployment rate, it climbed from 8.1% to 8.2%. Commenting on the jobs data and the implications for the gold price, Saxo Bank vice president Ole Hansen stated that “(The report was) very poor and confirmed the midcycle slowdown in the United States.  Whether it will be enough to change the mind of t...
Read more