Dollar strengthens but sentiments for gold are positive

Gold started the week on its back foot, testing the $1,300 level mid week. The metal recovered sharply ending the week essentially unchanged. A key catalyst for the recovery in the USD gold price was the revelation that that Presidents Trump and Xi will not meet to resolve trade differences prior to the imposition of increased tariffs in March. U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that he had no plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a March 1deadline to achieve a trade deal.

We continue to see the US China trade conflict, Fed and ECB actions as key drivers of equity and USD volatility, in turn driving investors to safe haven gold.

Concerns regarding the Chinese economy, weak growth and political tension in the Euro zone, Brexit and lingering global trade tensions are weighing in on market sentiment and the dollar is once more sought after as a refuge asset.

Investors strongly believe that there is much scope for gold to rise and they cite 3 main reasons for that-

• Geopolitical Risk. The U.S. trade war with China, the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and Britain's planned Brexit from the European Union are three examples of this. Each raises uncertainty for investors about the future, and that tends to make them anxious. Investors are also worried about the economic impact of U.S. government shutdown when global growth is already lean.

• High Stock Valuations. Investors are also increasingly wary of the stock market that's pricey relative to projected earnings. So, some investors are cashing in at least part of their stock holdings and sending some of the proceeds to gold funds. With stocks now showing signs of rolling over in response to trade talks concerns and a weaker growth forecast, gold should find enough support once again to prevent a serious challenge at support, currently at $1,300 an ounce, followed by $1,275

• Dollar - Gold is being pushed around by the U.S. dollar in the near term. Traders are getting out of anything to do with Europe on concerns of weakness in the region and going for safe-haven buying into U.S. treasuries, which is pushing up the dollar. But a possible shut down and impact of the US economy on its global counterpart, might make the dollar weak thus pushing gold further. 

• The Federal Reserve.  The Fed also seems to be at "an inflection point" when it comes to U.S. interest rates. He notes that the investment community went from expecting the Fed to boost rates multiple times this year to now perhaps making no increases in 2019. Lower interest rates tend to weaken the U.S. dollar and boost inflation risks, making gold more attractive. Gold and dollar are inversely related so whenever there is any negative effect on the dollar, gold prices tend to rise.

For gold, a lot of the recent action is largely dictated by the fact that the dollar is holding firm over the past two weeks. That has seen gold fall from resistance around $1,326 to current levels. But as long as the figure level still isn't breached, there's still favorable momentum to for gold to continue its upside run since November last year. We remain of the view that the $1,350 level is viable in the coming months, and note the $1,360 technical resistance level many market participants are watching.

Key data shifts market sentiments

Last week a lot was happening for gold globally and in the domestic market. While there was important data released from the US, in the domestic market too all eyes were glued to the interim budget. While internationally, Fed rate hike is the topic of discussion, in India Gold duty cut was also being discussed strongly. We shall discuss the budget later.

Let’s have a look at the key economic numbers and how it affected gold and dollar.

• Nonfarm payrolls rose more than 300K, which was significantly better than the 165K forecast and matched December's +300k rise
• Manufacturing activity accelerated 
• University of Michigan Sentiment index was revised slightly higher for the month of January. 
• Stocks extended their rise. 

Not only does this report tell us that the government shutdown had limited impact on the labor market but after revisions, job gains averaged 241K over the past 3 months. However even though the labor market is on fire, wage growth is slowing and there's a very good chance of downward revisions next month. More importantly the change in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement is significant enough to keep the US dollar under pressure so don't trust the rally.

Although employment continues to expand, wage growth remains tepid. The report said that average hourly earnings increased 0.1% last month or by 3 cents, missing expectations. Economists were expecting to see wages increase 0.3%. For the last 12 months wages increased 3.2%. The U.S. dollar rebounded against all of the major currencies on Friday on the back stronger economic data.  A lot of the Fed's concerns stem from events like Brexit, funding for the US government and US-China trade issues that could be resolved over the next few months

The gold market saw some selling pressure Friday after the U.S. labor market showed strong growth in January, according to the latest government employment data. This sentiment continued as the week opened on a negative note for gold.

Gold prices dipped slightly on Monday as the dollar held steady on upbeat U.S. jobs and factory data that prompted markets to reduce bets on a rate cut later this year.

In the Indian markets, gold markets weren’t much active as while jewellers held off on purchases in anticipation of the country’s budget presentation on Friday.
India’s bullion industry has been urging a tax reduction to combat smuggling, which has increased since the country raised the import duty to 10 percent in August 2013 to narrow its current account deficit.

However, the interim budget presented by the Indian government on Friday did not include a change in the duty and hence not much activity was seen.
But India’s counterpart China, was showing a different t picture altogether. The demand for gold in China was quite on the rise.

On the occasion of Lunar year (which falls in the first week of February), generally, gold is considered as one of the best gifting medium. Demand for physical gold gathered usually increases in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Another interesting gold purchase figure that saw record highs was from the central banks. 

Official gold purchases reached a new record in 2018 as central banks continued to diversify away from the U.S. Dollar.  Not only was 2018 a banner year for central bank gold purchases, but it was also the highest amount for more than five decades.  Central banks haven’t bought this much gold in one year since Nixon ended the convertibility of the U.S. Dollar into gold in 1971.

Despite the latest economic reports, the economy is still slowing but if Congress passes a permanent spending increase, the UK reaches a withdrawal agreement with the EU and the US forgoes further tariffs on China, 2 rate hikes this year could still be justified. With that in mind, any one of these discussions could go south, sending the markets into turmoil. Press conferences after every meeting this year gives the Fed the flexibility to change policy as needed and so far, domestic and global uncertainty justifies the need for patience. There's not much in the way of US data, so the dollar could resume its slide.

Union Budget 2019

It’s an important week for gold, both internationally and in the domestic markets. Amidst the Fed chaos, our very own budget got overshadowed.

Many suggestions have been made to the government, for the better of the Gems and Jewellery industry.

The government had increased the import duty on gold in order to narrow the trade deficit.  But in the lead to do so, unknowingly it has also led to an increase in gold smuggling. The gems and jewellery sector has sought a reduction of gold import duty to 4 percent, cut and polished diamonds and cut and polished gemstones to 2.5 percent and relaxation of credit norms for working capital requirements in the forthcoming budget.

Furthermore, elimination of CTT tax has been proposed in order to curb dabba trading.
These and many other suggestions related to import duty, taxes, infrastructure, R&D and precious stones duty has been made to the government.

The stakeholders expect that the government will accept these or at least amend the current norms in favours of everyone.

The upcoming interim Budget will likely offer a fresh push to gold schemes, laying out plans to tweak existing ones and announce new products, as earlier efforts to draw people to park their idle holdings with banks yielded little. A comprehensive gold policy is being planned.

This is an election year so it (the government) will is expected to put in more money into hands of people. There will be a big amount of spending in a short span that would be good for gold. Before the election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government could announces measures to help the nation's farmers, the biggest buyers of gold.

Keeping the bigger picture in mind, many new suggestions have been made, such that it creates a win win situation for the government, the jewellery industry and the end consumer. 

Gold looks moderately bullish

This week is all about the much awaited FOMC meet. The Federal Open Market Committee meets between Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, and Chairman Jerome Powell is widely expected to acknowledge growing risks to the U.S. economy as global momentum weakens.

Speculations prevailed in the market that the Federal Reserve will keep its interest rates unchanged during its two-day policy meet. This led to a spike in gold prices, nearing a seven month high during the day. But later gold steadied.

Gold has a tendency to appreciate on expectations of lower interest rates, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Currently, the European Central Bank is seeing downside risks to the economy. ECB President Mario Draghi warned last week that a dip in the euro zone’s economy could be more pronounced, comments seen as signalling a delay in the bank’s first interest rate hike.
Amongst this scenario gold is portraying a strong chance of solid upward movement.

Furthermore, the US Fed is also expected to be more accommodative. The Fed has already raised its interest rates four times last year. It has even given hints that it might life borrowing costs twice in 2019.  Analysts noted that Federal Reserve policymakers recently lowered their forecasts for 2019 from three rate increases to two. This should support gold.

This uncertainty is bringing about a rally in gold prices. Moreover, global equities, particularly Asian stocks rose higher, as Wall Street rallied after a deal was announced to reopen the U.S. government following a prolonged shutdown that had shaken investor sentiment.

There were great concerns over a slowing global economic growth and this shutdown has only increased the worries of the market. Not forgetting, the, signs of stress in corporate earnings and a still unresolved Sino-U.S. trade war.

Meanwhile we also expect a rise in demand for gold, especially in Asia. Usually gold is bought in Asian countries for weddings, occasions etc. But lately gold is being purchased for investment purposes. Investment demand for gold rises with an increase in wealth. In recent years, both China and India have rapid increase in the demand for gold, especially China. These countries have been active drivers of holding the metal in its physical form.

With regard to preservation of wealth, gold has an immensely long track record; providing a hedge against inflation, geopolitical risks, natural disasters and other crises. Currently private banks and wealth advisers might typically advise their HNW clients to hold about 3-5% gold in their investment portfolios. While an ETF provides gold exposure and is an excellent tool for short-term trading, physical gold is preferable for medium to long-term investment as it is highly liquid, lacks counterparty risk and affords investors more flexibility. Unlike property or stock funds, physical gold is a highly efficient wealth management tool for estate planning

Since gold has long been used as a safe haven asset the outlook for the yellow metal looks moderately bullish now.

The main trigger for sustained higher gold prices comes in the form of a gradual asset rotation from equities and other risky assets into bonds and safe-haven assets such as gold, as mainstream investors seek protection from market turbulences, potential recessions and growing bearish sentiment.

Moreover, the downside is somewhat limited, with current gold prices representing a floor, as bearish drivers are lacking, fundamentals are neutral and costs for the most expensive producers are close to current prices.

Gold has not Lost its lustre yet

Gold was at a life time high of $1921 an ounce in September 2011 when the US Federal Reserve was concluding its bond buying program (QE). During that period gold was everyone’s favourite metal. But by the end of 2015, gold prices declined to $1046. Sometime around that, the Federal Reserve, led by Janet Yellen has raised its key interest rates for the first time in 7 years. That’s the reason gold plunged. But now it seems that gold is finally emerging from an 8 year bear market. And that’s the reason we feel that gold has not lost its lustre yet.

They say that gold has an inverse relation with the dollar. When the dollar is strong gold is weak and vice versa.

It seems that gold has finally made a comeback and there are many factors responsible for this -
Gold seems to be driven by the fact that the current political standoff in Washington will lead to an escalation in crisis. Further the longest government shutdown in U.S history along with a gradually growing economy and rising global debt levels will add fuel to the fire. And when geopolitical issues are mentioned we can’t ignore the fact that the trade tensions between US and China have not been resolved yet. These factors strengthen the speculation of a push in gold prices.

Even though the dollar was up during the week, markets still prefer to stay loyal to gold.

Market watchers say the dollar may also come under pressure as the U.S. government shutdown begins to weigh on domestic growth. Having said that, gold prices are bound to rise.

Gold gaining popularity

Gold ended 2018 on a high note, beating global equities and commodities for the fourth quarter. Gold is a highly liquid asset and hence investors are majorly diversifying their portfolio towards gold as it proves to be a hedge tool and a safe haven asset in times of uncertainties.

There is quite some scope for the yellow metal and commodities in general in 2019 because investors believe that the current rate hike cycle has peaked and the U.S. dollar looks to be in retreat, having lost about 1.7 percent over the past month.

After four rate hikes in 2018, the Federal Reserve pausing interest rates in 2019 could also result in a weaker dollar and stronger demand for gold.

Gold is currently trading at $1,290 and moved in the high and low range of $1,295 and $1,287 on Tuesday. But this pullback is expected to be short lived as China is stepping up monetary and fiscal stimulus efforts to support its sagging economy. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected a record CNY 560 billion via reverse repo operations earlier today. Further, China is reportedly planning large scale tax cuts to boost spending.

History shows that monetary and fiscal stimulus has a positive impact on gold. Further, current unrest and political uncertainty in the UK could boost demand for the yellow metal.

Though strong U.S. dollar might have thwarted gold, but global growth concerns and other broad market worries could give the precious metal a boost.
Currently the markets are uncertain, economic numbers are dipping and stock markets are volatile.  All these clubbed together are bound to give a push to the precious metals as investors look up to them as safe haven assets. 

Is 2019 the year for Gold

2018 has a highly volatile and fluctuating year for gold as it faces many headwinds. A strong dollar, rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) coupled with accommodative policy from other central banks and a US economy buoyed by tax cuts, fuelled positive investor sentiment and pushed US stock prices higher through the start of October.

However, as geopolitical and macroeconomic risks increased, emerging market stocks pulled back and developed market stocks eventually followed.

As 2019 begun, have seen a sharp deterioration in risk sentiment following soft macroeconomic data in December and renewed concerns about the future direction of growth, particularly the risk of U.S. growth catching down towards weaker economies. December was a volatile month which generated a safe haven appeal for the yellow metal.

Lately gold has outperformed other assets in its class. Risk assets took a big hit in 2018, with the stock market suffering the worst in December but gold fared much better as it grew around 4 percent.

If we see the demand graph for gold for the next 6 to 8 months, we expect it to rise as it will benefit from the interplay of market risk and economic growth, with key dynamics, such as financial market instability, monetary policy, the dollar and structural economic reforms.

Rising geopolitical tensions- A fragile political alliance in Spain along with fending off secessionism, an instable monetary union in Italy, and internal turmoil in Europe and lastly social unrest in France- all of these clubbed together gave a very instable global picture. This growing uncertainty and the expansion of protectionist economic policies are making gold an increasingly attractive hedge tool.

Slow economic growth- Weak economic numbers coming from the US has spooked the markets. The U.S. manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) hit a 15-month low in the same month. Manufacturers' confidence in business also slipped to the lowest level in nearly two years. This in turn affects the rate hike frequency thus influencing gold prices.

Federal Reserve’s monetary policy- The Fed had been tightening monetary policy aggressively. But on Jan. 4 Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signalled Wall Street that policymakers will be patient with policy moves and are attuned to the messages coming from markets. While gold may face headwinds from higher interest rates and dollar strength but currently the effect of the same seems to be limited on gold as the Feds stance is neutral. Any delay in rate hike will push gold prices higher.

Demand for gold as a hedge tool- Globally, there were net positive flows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds in 2018. However, North American funds suffered significant outflows in the second and third quarters, with this trend only reversing in the fourth quarter as risks began to intensify. But in 2019, global investors are expected to favour gold as an effective diversifier and hedge against systemic risk on multiple global metrics

Central Bank Buying- In addition, central banks continue to buy gold to diversify their foreign reserves and counterbalance fiat currency risk, particularly as emerging market central banks tend to have high allocations of US treasuries. Higher demand once again means higher prices for gold.

Time and again it is proved that gold has delivered returns and has performed better than other assets in its class. Moreover, its liquidity and risk adjusted returns makes it an investors favourite and hence its looks more relevant this year.

Gold benefits from equity slide

Reserves Reserves Reserves - it was all about piling up gold in the past week. And when I Say piling I mean in huge numbers.

Peoples Bank China shocked the world when it’s released the figures of gold reserves that it sits on.  China's gold reserves had been steady at 59.240 million fine troy ounces from October 2016 to November 2018, according to data from the People’s Bank of China, and suddenly jumped to 59.560 million fine troy ounces at end-December.

The People’s Bank of China increased holdings to 59.56 million ounces by the end of December, or about 1,853 metric tons, from 59.24 million ounces previously, according to data on the central bank’s website. They had been unchanged since about 130,000 ounces were added in October 2016.
China has long been wanting to reduce its dependency on the US dollar. The ongoing trade war is threatening its economic growth.

Several large emerging economies, which today fuel most of global growth prospects, and major oil exporters, are intrigued by the idea of re-coupling gold with a multilateral currency basket to avoid excessive exposure to US dollar-denominated energy and commodity markets.

 Spot gold had its strongest month in almost two years as those fears spurred a whirlpool in equities and the dollar and boosted demand for the precious metal as a haven. And hence the world’s biggest producer and consumer boosted holdings of bullion.

But it was not an overnight thing. China has been piling reserves since quite some time. It had last released the figures in 2016 and now suddenly. And it’s not just China that has been doing this.  As Bloomberg reports, Poland and Hungary surprised the market in 2018 by adding to their gold holdings for the first time in many years.

Furthermore, there have been interesting shifts in gold reserves. While advanced economies, such as the US and Germany, still own most global gold reserves, the US has increased its gold holdings in the past decade only marginally, while Germany has been forced to cut its reserves. In contrast, China has tripled its reserves, while Russia has nearly quintupled its gold (after dumping billions of US Treasuries), despite rounds of sanctions.

Fresh comments coming in from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, got in a fresh rally in gold prices. The statements released boosted the chances that the central bank will pause interest-rate increases. Speculation that the Federal Reserve may pause its interest rate hikes has given further strength to gold’s rally into the new year and assets in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds are at a seven-month high. Spot gold was trading 0.5 percent higher at $1,291.83 an ounce as the week ended. Strengthening of the yellow metal has further weakened the greenback.

Gold was out of favour for much of 2018 as a result of the strong dollar and interest rate increases in the US. The precious metal traded as low as $1,174 an ounce in August, despite rising geopolitical tensions.

However, sentiment began to improve towards the end of the year, as volatility increased further and US stocks suffered.

THOSE analysts who believe that fear has made a comeback argue that gold is benefiting as equities slide and investors are increasingly concerned about the economic prospects of the United States (US), China, Europe and Japan. Yet, even at $1,290, gold still remains more than 30 percent behind its all-time high of $1,898 in September 2011 amid the US debt-limit crisis.

Gold expected to outperform in 2019

Bullion hit a six-month high, nearing US$1,300 an ounce over the following concerns-

• Report showing a contraction in China manufacturing sent global stocks tumbling on 3rd January, 2019. 
• Concern over chains economic outlook
• Sinking factory gauges in Italy and Poland
• Wobbly U.S stock market
• Weaker economic data coming out of the European Union

Volatile stock markets, dollar swings and a global trade war sent gold on quite a market ride in 2018, from a high of $1366 an ounce in January 2018 to $1159 in August. Some were disappointed as they couldn’t make much of the dips or failed to enter the market at the right time.

Gold prices are still stuck in a trading range that it hasn’t broken away from over a couple of years. But analysts believe that this is the time to enter the market and change your strategies. It probably to best time own gold as 2019 brings some positive price rise in the yellow metal; Equity markets will expect high levels of volatility and its wild fluctuation towards the end of 2018 speaks all for it. Moreover the US government is sitting over huge debts and there are grave concerns that the economy will over heat. Moreover the Fed policy makers have been sending mixed messages as to how many times they will increase the rates in 2019. Keeping this in mind, it seems that it’s the perfect scenario for investors to seek safety in gold as it is expected to be the best performing asset in its class in 2019.

Gold looks moderately bullish in 2019

To recap, gold prices have held pretty firm in 2018. Trading just 5% lower versus the Dollar, gold has now risen back to last New Year's Eve for Euro and UK investors.

Gold futures on Monday closed out New Year's Eve with a loss for the session and year, but garnered some upward momentum as stock-market carnage reignited haven-related demand and as the dollar weakened somewhat. Weakness in equities over the past three months has given bullion some support, as has a weakening dollar over the past month. A weaker buck can provide support for commodities priced in the unit, as it makes it cheaper to users of other currencies.

Gold was expected to drop with the stock market, but instead it rose. It was expected that gold will behave the way it did in 2008. But there are big differences between now and 2008, it still looked likely that gold would get dragged down with the stock market when it dropped hard due to a flight into cash driving the dollar up but so far at least, this has not happened.

The biggest difference between now and 2008 is that back then money flooded into the dollar in order to buy Treasuries, but this time round that does not appear to be happening, and it is not hard to see why. Those who have been paying attention will know that other major powers like China and Russia have been preparing to dump the dollar for a long time now, by buying gold as fast as the West will sell it to them, devising their own payments systems to replace the SWIFT system and making bilateral trade agreements, etc. They also know that unless they have the military power to defend themselves, they would at some point be subject to military aggression by the U.S. if they try to cease using the dollar, hence their major effort to beef up their defensive capabilities.

Thus, what we are seeing is an intensifying buyers strike with respect to Treasuries that will continue to hike interest rates until the economy implodes, a process which has already started.

Thus, the fact that the dollar failed to rally either on the severe drop in the stock market of recent weeks or on the latest rate hike is viewed as an ominous development, both for the dollar itself and for the economy. This is what gold is picking up on and is the reason why it is has started to move ahead over the past couple of weeks.

• Gold over the medium term looks moderately bullish over the following influences-
• The rising frequency of US equity market draw down's
• The gradual unwind of QE
• Higher overall macro market volatility
• Elevated geopolitical risks should all continue to favor gold buying on the dips.

Currently, the biggest threat to the gold market remains the U.S. dollar. However, the greenback could less of a factor to the precious metals market if equity markets continue to push lower.

Though gold isn't guaranteed to rise in price but global issues might spark trouble for investors. So in order to maintain a balance, owning a little physical bullion, stored securely and ready to sell the moment you need looks like a wise decision, given the fact the 2019 has come into view and a lot of ups and downs are expected to shake the market.

From Dovish to Bullish

Gold was hovering around the $1250 and $1260 range; IT took off over $1260 over news doing round in the markets that the U.S Fed would be taking a more ‘dovish’ stance on current and future interest rate hike at the December FOMC meeting.

A “dovish hike” occurs when a central bank raises rates but hints that future such moves will be limited. But this was short lived as gold dropped $20 reaching the low of $1240 an ounce despite the belief that the Fed would be taking a more ‘dovish’ view on the forthcoming interest rate hikes.

Equities were doing well until; a statement released by Powell which ended the splurge and the major U.S indexes fell sharply on 19th December. 

Dow- closed down another 350 points
S&P- off 39 points
NASDAQ –down 147 points.

These downfalls benefited gold. Another fact that supported the precious metals were the numbers that came in from GLD, the world’s largest gold ETF. Around 8 tonnes of golf was deposited bringing the total holding to a highest level of 4 months at 771.79 tonnes.

On analysis the statement following the latest FOMC meeting, and Fed Chair Powell’s subsequent comments, were perhaps less ‘dovish’ than the markets had hoped, particularly following President Trump’s plea not to raise rates.  The Fed was pointing to two interest rate rises next year, instead of three as previously forecast, but U.S. data - and particularly equity performance, could lead to a change of plan at one of the next FOMC meetings - due on January 29-30 and March 20-21. 

 Perhaps one could expect changes in the Fed’s leadership in the New Year, or before, under pressure from President Trump if he sees the independent body as thwarting his ideas on the U.S. position on world trade.

Trade war, US equities, geopolitical crisis, Euro zone and some more factors will have a visible impact on gold. We thus await some concrete news before the markets break for a holiday mood and before the year ends.

But overall things are looking positive for gold and the other precious metals - at least for now hopefully!

Series of Events await for the precious metals market

Gold has been on a five month high, where prices climbed on Monday, with declines in a leading dollar index, Treasury yields and the U.S. stock market, as well as comments from a well-known fund manager, prompting prices to settle at their highest in just over a week.

The gains in gold come ahead of key central-bank policy decisions this week and uncertainty around concrete trade developments between the U.S. and China.

There were a host of reasons responsible for this positive splurge in gold prices-

US Dollar - On Monday, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.4% at 97.054. Gold is often sensitive to movements in the dollar. A weaker U.S. unit typically boosts demand for commodities priced in dollars as it makes them less expensive to users of other currencies.

US stock - Benchmark U.S. stock indexes, meanwhile, traded broadly lower as gold futures settled, after ending last week in a rout that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average back into correction territory. Stock weakness generally supports gold resulting in an upward movement.

Fed rate hike - Market expectations for 2019 Fed rate increases, once put at three to four more increases, have also begun to lessen on the back of dovish comments from Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell. Fed rate-hike expectations are plummeting. Fed fund futures imply only a good 70% probability of a rate hike at the Fed’s meeting next week, with the probability of another by the end of 2019 likewise at only around 70%.

Expert advice - Double line Capital Founder Jeff Gundlach predicted the U.S. dollar would struggle in the coming new year, and that U.S. equities will enter a bear market. Post this statement; Prices for the metal got an added boost to intraday highs.

Brexit - Brexit is another geopolitical factor whose uncertainty is supportive for haven metals, though, again, the reaction has been muted so far. In the U.K., solutions to the Brexit dilemma are still hard to come by, a background story that is keeping the dollar bid, but not offering much extra boost for precious metals.

Apart from the ongoing activities there are a series of events that await the precious metals markets-

And other monetary policy updates this week, the Bank of Japan will make an announcement late Wednesday and the Bank of England meets on Thursday. The dollar has enjoyed relative strength against the yen and the pound, in part because of the interest-rate differential between the U.S. and its major economic allies. the Bank of Japan will make an announcement late Wednesday monetary policy updates this week, and the Bank of England meets on Thursday China’s Central Economic Work Conference a speech by President Xi Jinping There have been signs if panic in the market resulting in higher volatility. Riskier assets have been under pressure due to geopolitical events.
Currently the highlight is the ongoing US china trade spat and the market needs to see some real signs that point towards resolving some of their differences.

Has the scenario changed for gold

Last week, gold prices had a chance to close at their highest since the middle of July. The fundamental backdrop was a combination of declines in the US Dollar and local front-end government bond yields. Since gold is priced in USD, a weaker greenback makes the precious metal relatively more expensive. As for the latter, when bond yields decline, the non-interest bearing asset looks comparatively more appealing.

Though markets have shown a drastic behavior in the past 10 days, things still good for gold. Though gold has been down almost 4 per cent for the year till date, last week was fairly positive for the yellow metal. No doubt equities have outperformed gold so far but any rally in gold prices and any further weakness in U.S equities will see a reverse behaviour thus gold outperforming stocks in the near future.

The Fed has already appeared to express doubts on the future pace of tightening, although the markets do not anticipate it holding off on the likely 25 basis point interest rate increase at the FOMC meeting in just over one week’s time.  Although a further sharp fall in U.S. equities in the coming week might, just, cause the Committee to change its mind.  It is likely to be under pressure from President Trump to keep interest rates, and thus the dollar, down given his tariff impositions seem to be having the effect of increasing the dollar index and, ultimately, putting up the cost of manufactured goods to the U.S. consumer.

The volatility in equities and dollar was influenced buy the ongoing trade war between China and U.S which appears to have backfired rapidly on the greenback.

The arrest in Vancouver of China’s Huawei Technology’s CFO and the company founder’s daughter in Canada has potentially inflamed the trade relations again.

In the bigger picture, The Fed is in a dilemma over a few factors that don’t fall under its control but will play an important role in the growth of the US economy which will further  influence any decision related to rate hike-

Immigration - President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, which translates into fewer workers, especially those willing to take lower-wage jobs, and therefore higher wages

Wage- state-level minimum wage boosts that amount to government-mandated wage inflation.
Truck driver shortage- the countrywide truck driver shortage, which has become "a major reason for all sorts of companies to raise prices  in order to make their customers eat higher shipping costs
Trade war- is the United States' trade dispute with China, further escalated this week by the arrest of the CFO of Huawei, one of China's most important companies. While Trump and China's president seemed to agree to a ceasefire over the weekend, the arrest makes the odds of a good trade deal most unlikely.

All four of these ongoing issues directly affect the Fed's policy, and that's what's putting this independent entity in a bind when it comes to planning for the year ahead and maneuvering other major, economy-altering changes like the rise of workplace automation.

The Fed is simply helpless and can’t do anything about the above mentioned trends. Just in case they won’t work in its favour then rate hike might be delayed which will surely push gold prices high.

Speculators are currently neutral for gold. They don’t believe it will dip neither they have faith in its upside potential. Though markets feel that chances if it going lower are high.
But if we see the long run, gold looks attractive.

Gold prices for the year have decline but look positive in the coming two years. A lower dollar, lower US Treasury yields, a recovery of the Chinese Yuan and higher jewellery demand will result in the upward trend.

Time to buy gold will arrive soon

So far this week looks good for gold as we saw its prices edging higher in Thursday In Asia and it traded near a 5 month high amid U.S. yield curve inversion.

The yield curve inversion triggered concerns about economic growth and a dollar sell-off recently. The two-year/10-year spread was at its flattest this week in more than a decade amid a sharp fall in long-term rates. A flatter curve is seen as an indicator of a slowing economy.

Any slower pace in the economy adds to negativity in growth. This has put pressure in the dollar and further strengthened gold prices. The greenback came under pressure last week when the market took comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell as signalling a slower pace of rate hikes. Markets still expect the Fed to move forward with a quarter-point hike this month but have interpreted cautious remarks from policymakers to mean that further tightening in 2019 will have to be re-evaluated on economic and inflation data and hence the pull in prices has not been that high.

Furthermore, uncertainty prevails in the market over the upcoming Federal Reserve policy decision, as the Dec. 18-19 meeting looms just over the horizon.

On Wednesday gold hit a high of $1243 an ounce and plunge back to $1233. Though we have gold price moving up this year but the trading range has been sideways because it doesn’t stay at the peak for a long time.

Hence it has been containing most of the price especially since the 11th of October, between 1212 and 1243.  Gold bulls will need the Fed to halt its raising interest rate programme to see a major reversal in the price of gold. Once the Federal Reserve ends the tightening cycle, the time to buy gold will be near

So we can say that if the bulls keep running for gold then it will pick momentum from ere and will be seen crossing the $1243 territory and hopefully cross the July highs of $1257 an ounce.

The coming year looks positive for gold because the dollar is expected to weaken, US treasury yield might be lower, Chinese Yuan expected to recover and demand for jewellery predicted to rise.
And if all falls in place for the bulls then one wouldn’t be wrong if he expects gold to touch the $1400 level.

Will gold witness an upward trend soon

Gold was following a wave like movement during the week as we saw it moving up till Thursday and then diving down by the end of the week.
Gold edged higher for the second consecutive session on Thursday and was placed at the top end of its weekly trading range, around the $1227-28 region during the trading hours.

Spot gold has stood strong against a weaker dollar, with the precious metal’s spot price hovering at around $1228 – one of the highest levels it has seen since 11 November where it hit $1230 per ounce.

The Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments that rates are just below the neutral level now triggered a broad-based US Dollar weakness and prompted some short-covering trade around the dollar-denominated commodity. This weakness further strengthened the yellow metal and pushed prices higher.

The USD bearish pressure now seems to have abated, though expectations of a slowdown in interest rate hikes, reinforced by sliding US Treasury bond yields, kept pushing the non-yielding yellow metal higher through the mid-European session on Thursday.

Even the prevalent positive mood around European equity markets, which tends to undermine demand for traditional safe-haven assets, did little to prompt any fresh selling around the precious metal or stall the ongoing positive momentum.

The price of gold shot up on Thursday, following Bank of England statement (on 28th November), in which the BoE forecast the UK economy’s performance in the face of the various Brexit outcomes and warned of serious economic contraction with any ‘No Deal’ Brexit.

But post the U.S. data released on Friday, the dollar which was lying flat, gained momentum. Reports released were above expectations and this strengthened the dollar thus pushing gold prices down.

Further, Gold prices fell in the domestic markets too. Investors took this dip as an opportunity to buy. The appreciating (Indian) rupee has brought down prices. At this price level, jewellers and retail buyers are quite comfortable in making purchases.

Local gold prices were trading near their lowest in about three months as an appreciation in the rupee made overseas buying cheaper. Physical gold demand in the world’s second biggest bullion consumer India got a fillip this week from a slide in local rates due to gains in the rupee, while buying was steady in other top Asian hubs.

Though gold hasn’t shown an eye catching gain, it still holds importance in the portfolio of many. If we see closely, gold has been falling since the past seven years. It’s down by more than a third over that period. So clearly, the metal is cheap and makes itself more appealing as a safe haven asset.

The precious metal has been in free fall most of 2018, losing roughly 11% of its value since its January peak. And this year's performance is a continuation of the longer-term trend.

Gold has slowly been trending higher since August. The metal is up a little more than 3% since then. And prices appear to be hitting what analysts describe as "higher lows."

Gold prices have been falling for years. Investors recently hit their most extreme negative sentiment levels in nearly two decades. And now, the price is starting to move back up.

With investors now pricing in only one more rate hike in 2019, markets feel positive for gold and hence it has once again found acceptance in an investment portfolio. Will we see gold in an upward trend soon? Well the answer lies in 2019 as 2018 is about to end and which a holiday mood in the air markets are not expected to be much volatile in the coming days.

Gold remains positive but lacks direction

Gold prices were modestly high last week reacting over a mixed bag of economic reports and geopolitical events. The yellow metal has been able to furnish gains over slightly weak US dollar.

GOLD PRICES rose against a falling US Dollar on Friday, halving last week's 1.9% drop to trade back above $1220 per ounce as Western stock markets fell and crude oil rallied from this month's 17% plunge so far.

Gold prices ended higher on Thursday, shaking off pressure from a stronger dollar to hold on to a week-to-date gain as U.S. and European equities declined.

Tumbling equities market, plunging oil prices, escalating worries about stresses in the global economy, ongoing trade tensions and uncertain growth projections have created a rally in gold prices. 

Let have look at these mixed bags -

BREXIT - The issues around Brexit have invigorated a little bit of safe-haven buying in the precious metals market. In the past week, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May had two of her cabinet members resign Thursday, including her Brexit secretary, following May’s pronouncement Wednesday that she is sticking with her controversial Brexit plan. The British pound sunk on the news of the resignations, while European bond yields rose. Talks of a no confidence vote for May were also doing the rounds. This led to some safe haven buying in gold though it did not create that much an impact on the world marketplace.

DOLLAR - while the U.S. dollar remains the strongest and most consistent factor for gold, it’s likely that correlations with other asset classes will begin to strengthen and re-emerge over the next 6-12 months and thus reassert themselves in gold’s favour. Furthermore, the marketplace took note of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments at a speech late Wednesday that the Fed is closely monitoring the modest deceleration in world economic growth. However, Powell implied that situation is not now altering the Fed’s monetary policy tenor of continuing to slowly raise U.S. interest rates. Powell added that a further U.S. stock market selloff could impact the Fed’s policy decisions. Any further weakness in the dollar due to Feds decisions will pull gold prices high.

EURO ZONE CRISIS - Crisis and uncertainty continue to prevail in Europe, where Italy is locking horns with the EU and a Brexit deal hangs in the balance, mega-economy Germany has just produced the worst growth in nearly six years. Even if Wall Street can successfully shake off noise from the Old Country, a fresh threat from falling oil prices, along with worries over trade and a Fed misstep may cast long shadows

EQUITIES - Currently equities don’t belong to anyone and it appears to be in no-man’s-land. Gold and silver are seeing a bit of support as the U.S. stock indexes have backed down and might fall further. Any stronger stock market selling pressure surfacing in the near future would likely more significantly benefit gold and silver prices.

What we see from the above explanations is that the markets are now moving focus from dollar to geopolitical events.

But one notable interesting thing we see coming in is from China. China has developed tremendously in recent years. But what’s next? Is the country entering the growth recession? And how it will affect the world and the gold market?

Indeed, at the turn of this century, China was a minor player in this market. While today it is both the world’s largest consumer and producer of gold, accounting for 23% of total gold demand and 13% of total gold supply. However, there are still opportunities for further development, as the investor base is too narrow, while the market infrastructure and regulations need to improve.

So far, the Chinese authorities have postponed the inevitable slowdown. But it will arrive one day. Given the economy’s massive leverage, the growth recession is likely to cause a financial crisis, which would hit the whole world. Gold should shine, then. The problem is that nobody knows when it will happen.

While we remain positive on gold prices going toward and into 2019, gold still seems to lack clear price directionality for the time being.

Investors mantra - Stay Calm

Gold has lost around $30/oz. in less than one week as the US dollar charge continues. Last week’s FOMC meeting confirmed that US interest rates will continue to climb this year and next, while the Democrats’ victory in the House of Representatives is being taken as a USD positive so far, as it makes US President Trump more accountable for his actions. The precious metal was also unable to pick up a risk-off bid after US and Asian stock markets crumbled overnight on tech - mainly due to Apple - and worries that US-China trade wars may escalate.

Apart from the above mentioned acts, the way things are going- default concerns and inflation expectations are rather low by historical standards. As a result, financial markets could take a hard hit if investors ever wake up and demand a higher price for accepting credit and/or inflation risk. Such a scenario could make holding gold a particularly interesting option.

The recent weakness in gold is not over. In fact, we are worried about another leg down getting underway. While some believe that gold is moving to the bears there are some players in the market who still believe that gold prices will rally in the near future. Long term investors and speculation are making a shift from a bear to a bull market. Their belief is strongly supported by a few factors which these market players expected to occur soon-

• First and foremost, the current gold price does not seem to be high and there is a lot of scope for recovery till it reaches its all time high
• In a risk-on scenario, there is a good chance that the gold price will move up
• Bargain hunting and weakness in equities, such as the sharp fall in U.S. stock market on are helping put a floor under gold during the metal’s recent slide. The fact that gold has not fallen further “is probably due to the correction on the stock markets, which has made gold attractive as an alternative investment
• Oiling of gold reserves is a clear indicator that central banks do not want to be dollar dependent. A gold driven economy will definitely raise the demand for the yellow metal and furthermore its prices.
• Gold is the only financial asset that’s not simultaneously somebody else’s liability. Hence the liking for this metal always remains high.
• With uncertain world financial assets, there’s an excellent chance there’s going to be a volatile markets and hopefully a one that favors gold.

Currently we see investors acting very calm in the market. Maybe they await a strong and concrete signal from the global markets to get back into action mode.

December likely to be more volatile

Just when gold had become investor’s favorites, it started losing sheen. Friday, Gold closed at a one-week low amid investors shifting to riskier assets on the back of a higher dollar and the Federal Reserve's policy statement.

Gold eased to a one-week low on Thursday, as a recovery in the dollar and improved appetite for riskier assets pushed investors away from bullion.

Spot gold fell 0.13 percent to $1,224.09 per ounce, after touching its lowest since Nov. 1 at $1,219.59 Just when gold had become investor’s favorites, it started losing sheen. Friday, Gold closed at a one-week low amid investors shifting to riskier assets on the back of a higher dollar and the Federal Reserve's policy statement.

Gold eased to a one-week low on Thursday, as a recovery in the dollar and improved appetite for riskier assets pushed investors away from bullion.

Spot gold fell 0.13 percent to $1,224.09 per ounce, after touching its lowest since Nov. 1 at $1,219.59 earlier during the day.

Gold prices fell to their lowest in a week on Friday, and were set for their biggest weekly fall since August, on a firmer dollar as the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated they will continue to raise interest rates, lowering demand for bullion.

In the past fortnight we saw the dollar going week on the belief that losses for U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party in the midterm elections would make further fiscal stimulus measures unlikely.

But it didn’t take too long for the dollar to get back into action. The dollar has mounted a significant rally. Many reasons were cited for this bounce back-

• The Fed kept interest rates steady on Thursday
• It reaffirmed its monetary tightening stance.
• Robust U.S. economy kept the currency underpinned
• Investors positioned for a Federal Reserve interest rate rise next month
• Political risks in Europe put pressure on the euro and the pound.
• Fears about a no-deal Brexit gave dollar the push
• Growing rift in Europe over Italy's budget
• Reload of long dollar positions by investors
• Vulnerability of European currencies
• Weakening of the Euro over concerns about Rome's tussle with the European Commission over its 2019 budget
• Weakness in Italy's banking sector
• The melancholy in Europe has been good news for dollar
• Easing of China-U.S. trade tensions
• Weak China data
• Weakening euro zone economy is expected to trigger further euro-selling pressure.


All these factors clubbed together strengthened the dollar and hence the dollar rallied to a 16-month high on Monday.

The dollar extended its recovery following a sigh of relief across markets after the U.S. midterm election results, and as investors turned their attention towards the Fed.

Gold has always been keeping a watch on the dollar and moving accordingly. Currently too it is dollar-watching and keeping an eye on the interest rate decisions. Gold has come under pressure because of a stronger dollar. Also the FOMC meeting showed no change in the interest rates. Gold might turn to the bears as any news that is positive for the U.S. dollar and the U.S economy as a whole will bring about a fall in the yellow metal and push prices down.

A lot is expected to happen by the end of year and these activities will sure create volatility on a global level. Ongoing trade disputes. Escalating Saudi- Arabian tensions and Brexit are all in line to occur. December is likely to be more volatile and hence a lot is expected to happen as we get closer to end the year.

Wait and watch approach

Gold was down last week till Wednesday but again gained momentum on Thursday. It saw a sharp rally from Wednesday’s bottom but pulled back once again on Friday.

In 2018, gold was highly influenced by a wide variety of factors -

• Brexit
• Election of U.S President Donald Trump
• Geopolitical events
• US China trade war
• Global equities
• Iranian Sanctions in Venezuela
• Midterm elections
• Cyber attacks
• Collapse of peace talks with North Korea

These all have the highest likelihood of impacting markets in 2018 and 2019 and thus creating volatility which will likely bring about a rally in gold prices.

Since these series of events are either on going or about to happen, markets player are now following the wait and watch approach.

US midterm elections will definitely have a major impact on global currencies and assets across all classes. Hence investors and traders are not being much active and are waiting for something concrete to occur as Midterm elections may stimulate safe-haven buying,”

Interestingly gold has not only bounced, it has shown this behavior in spite of stability in the dollar. Gold is expected to rise further

Interestingly, gold, largely left for dead, has rallied. Not only has gold bounced, but it has done so despite a steady dollar. Which raises the question: Why is gold rallying now? Here are some potential reasons:

Steady dollar - While the DXY Index is pushing against the upper end of its five-month range, the dollar has been relatively stable since May. This is important as a rapidly strengthening dollar, as we witnessed last spring, has historically been a headwind for gold.

Inflation - Besides the dollar, the biggest challenge for gold in 2018 has been rising real rates, i.e. interest rates after inflation. Higher real rates raise the opportunity cost of an asset that produces no income. Between January and early October, real 10-year yields advanced by 50 basis points. However, since then, real rates seem to have temporarily peaked near the levels reached in 2013 and hence its stability will bring in a rise in gold prices.

Volatility - While real rates and the dollar are key fundamental drivers for gold, demand for a hedge against volatility also drives gold prices. With the exception of the brief correction in February, that attribute has not been in demand until recently. Prior to the recent swoon, U.S. equities were well on their way towards another year of double-digit gains. Unfortunately, this pleasant trajectory has been interrupted. Equity market volatility has doubled since early October. This is important, as gold has a history of performing best versus stocks when volatility is spiking.


These factors have historically proved that in such a volatile environment gold always acts as a safe haven asset and a hedge tool. Give this characteristic of gold it’s obvious that any minor crisis will also bring about a rise in the demand for the yellow metal which will further push the prices higher.

Moving to the domestic markets, sales have dampened this Diwali. Physical gold demand in India was lacklustre this week, with dealers offering discounts for the metal ahead of a traditionally busy festival week for the first time in at least three years, as high prices kept consumers away.

Prices in India, the second biggest gold consumer after China, held near 33,000 Indian rupees per 10 grams, the highest since September 2013, ahead of the Dhanteras and Diwali festivals next week, when buying gold is considered auspicious.

This Dhanteras, jewellers and bullion traders witnessed a drop in demand. Retail buyers are not interested in buying at this level. Furthermore, The Indian currency has lost more than 12 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar so far in 2018, making purchases of commodities denominated in the greenback more expensive.

Post Diwali, jewellers still have hope of a rise in the demand during the wedding season.
Like global investors and markets players, jewellers in India too are following this approach- to wait and to watch.

Investors stockpile gold

Gold witnessed a series of events in the past week which ultimately proved fruitful for gold. Gold was highly influenced positively by a series of following key events:

1. Globally, equities markets plunged down sharply.
2. Uncertainties over the results of the U.S midterm, elections. At the moment there appears to be a strong chance of the Democrats gaining a majority in the House of Representatives, but the Republicans comfortably holding on to their Senate majority. Such a scenario would probably be gold-positive in that it would lead to political gridlock.
3. Trade war between China and US which was initiated by the implementation of tariffs on Chinese goods by the US governments
4. Uncertainty in Europe over the fallout from a possible no-deal scenario for Brexit, 
5. Nervousness over the forthcoming Italian budget which threatens to challenge the Euro zone hierarchy 
6. Geopolitical fallout from the Khasoggi murder which could upset Middle Eastern alliances.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, we still expect some geopolitical difficulties to occur, which may further strengthen gold and help it in breaking its comfort zone.

Gold has been back above $1,200 an ounce for the last two weeks, helped by safe-haven buying due to weakness in global equities and geopolitical tensions. Last week, Gold rose to test monthly highs near $1,240/oz but lost strength and pulled back. The retreat from the top, continued after the ECB meeting and during the American session, amid a stronger US dollar against majors and despite an improvement in risk appetite.

When the yellow metal crossed $1200 mark, it saw many investors retuning to the market with a great interest in gold. Retail buyers have started making their purchased as they expect a further price rise. Further, the investors’ class is also taking some stock profits as Wall Street volatility increased and they’re moving some of those profits to safer or more opportune areas, including gold and silver.

It’s not only the small investor class but also major central banks that are adopting gold. Russia and China have also been trying to win support from global governments to create a new gold-backed currency, thereby removing the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

Gold’s impressive performance of late, coming amid USD [U.S. dollar] strength, suggests that gold finally is behaving like a safe-haven asset.  There has been a pickup in gold purchases by central banks, including Hungary, Poland, India, Turkey and Mongolia, in addition to regular gold buyers Russia and Kazakhstan. And if this continues we will soon see gold at record highs.