The sentiments for Gold are bullish

Gold prices have fallen 5.3% from the end of February high and they have almost given back 50% of the December to February gains

Gold prices slipped towards week low on Thursday as investors awaited the employment report due on Friday, a factor that would unofficially strengthen the interest rate hike in the FOMC meet next week.

Gold’s latest pull down followed the release of better-than-expected US private jobs data midweek, boosting the dollar ahead of the release of official monthly payrolls figures on Friday.

• Private employment, which excludes government agencies, rose by 227,000 after a 221,000 increase the prior month. It was the biggest gain since July. Construction jobs, which can fluctuate depending on the weather, rose by 58,000, the strongest in almost a decade, and followed a 40,000 increase in January. Manufacturing payrolls gained 28,000, matching the most since August 2013. Meanwhile, retail positions fell by 26,000, the most in four years.

• The ECB held its benchmark refinancing rate at 0% and left the pace of its bond purchases unchanged on March 9th, as widely expected. Both the deposit rate and the lending rate were also left steady at 0.4% and 0.25%, respectively.

• The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits went up by 20000 to 243000 in the week ended March 4th 2017, slightly above expectations of 235000.

• 2008 Nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the United States increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016, following a downwardly revised 3.3 percent rise in the previous period and below market expectations of a 1.5 percent gain.

While unseasonably warm weather may have boosted the payrolls count, the data represent President Donald Trump’s first full month in office and overlap with a surge in economic buoyancy following his election victory. The figures also corroborate recent comments by Federal Reserve officials that flagged a likely interest-rate increase this month.

Bullion’s being pulled back down toward $1,200 an ounce in the worst losing run since October as positive US economic data underpinned expectations that interest rates could probably be raised several times this year, starting with a hike next week.

After raising rates just a single time in 2015 and also in 2016, the pace may quicken this year. The so-called dot plot from Fed policy makers shows an expectation for three increases this year, and last Friday, Yellen dropped hints the bank might end up having to hike them more than planned in 2017.

After Wednesday’s upbeat private payrolls data, markets were pointing towards more than 90 % chances of rate hike in March meeting; gold prices are likely to face the weakness amidst the strength in the dollar. Separately, the weaker CPI released from China is also likely to put pressure on gold, given the fact that gold is considered as a hedge against inflation.

Gold prices slipped on Friday, building on a loss for the week as better-than-expected U.S. employment data backs the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will decide to boost interest rates at its meeting next week.

Higher interest rates lift the appeal of holding dollars. That also means that a stronger dollar cuts the worth of holding non-yielding gold that’s priced in this denomination.

We see this sell-off as tied into the increased chance of a US rate rise next week. Looking further out, sentiments for the yellow metal are bullish.

Effect of Presidential Election and BREXIT on Bullion Market

So Far, bullion has witnessed a 9.6 percent rise in prices mainly due to the prevailing political uncertainty over Trump’s unorthodoxy, European elections and Brexit ruffle confidence.
The yellow metal reached near a four month high last week amid intensified political uncertainty in the U.S. and the EU.

All precious metals have made gains, gold, silver, platinum and palladium, as both the euro and the dollar weakened over the week. Let's take a look as to what factors contributed to the rise and how far an important role will they play in the near future.

US uncertainty- Gold prices have hit a four month high to reaching their highest level since Donald Trump won the election.

The metal is considered as a safe haven asset for money and values rise when markets are in turmoil or in times of uncertainty. This sentiment has raised the demand for gold especially from investors thus pushing  its prices higher.

As markets await a major speech by US president Donald Trump, we saw equates retreating and dollar hesitating thus strengthening gold prices and shaking off most of the losses incurred following the surprise election result, as markets continue to unwind Trump trade.

Fed Rate Hike- Last Wednesday's release of minutes from the last FOMC meeting on January 31 – February 1 struck a slightly more hawkish tone as Fed members discussed the appropriateness of another rate hike 'fairly soon.' concerns over the risks and uncertainties surrounding the Trump Administration's fiscal stimulus plans as well as a strengthening US dollar tempered that hawkish stance. In the end, markets were once again left with continued ambiguity regarding the pace of monetary policy tightening in the coming months. Indeed, the Fed Fund futures market still saw a low percentage probability of a March rate hike – in the high-teens to low-20's – a day after release of the FOMC minutes. This sustained policy uncertainty helped weigh on the dollar while boosting the price of gold further. Reduced expectations of a US rate hike in March following the release of the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's last meeting are also helping gold.

EU elections- Despite the virtually relentless rally in US and global equity markets, geopolitical risks continued to abound, particularly in Europe. Article 50, which officially begins the process of separation between the UK and European Union ('Brexit'), is slated to be triggered no later than in March. A former European Commission official has recently stated that the triggering of Article 50 could lead to a 'complete breakdown' of UK/EU relations.

Additionally, France's far-right, anti-EU presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, is leading in polls for the first round of the upcoming French elections. Although she is not currently favored to win against frontrunner Emmanuel Macron, any surprise victory by the populist/nationalist Le Pen will undoubtedly lead to serious questions about the future of the EU.

Geopolitical worries and political concerns in the EU continue which is leading a flight to safety bid in gold futures market and gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) and demand for safe haven gold bullion.

Dollar- The dollar looks vulnerable due to the uncertainty about US President Donald Trump and the new U.S. administration's policies. Overnight Trump attacked China and accused the Chinese of being ‘grand champions’ of currency manipulation.

This alone is quite bullish for gold. It does not create confidence about trade relations between the world's two biggest economies and it suggests that we may be about to embark on the next phase of the global currency wars.

The US president is to deliver his first speech to US Congress next week, after US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said the impact of fiscal stimulus this year on the economy might be limited.

Amid these uncertainties in Europe as well as those in the US under the Trump Administration's still-hazy policy trajectory and the Fed's murky monetary policy, gold has continued to extend its sharp uptrend that began after price bottomed out around the $1125 support area in late December.