By Mr. Prithviraj Kothari, MD, RSBL
Last week we saw gold prices setting to 15 month high on Friday.
This surge in prices was influence by nervous stock markets which raised gold’s safe haven demand. Currently A confluence of monetary and financial factors is supporting gold prices.
A solidly lower U.S. dollar index that hit an eight-month low Friday and Nymex crude oil prices that notched a five-month high are bullish "outside market" forces that are also propelling gold and silver prices higher.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve continued its historically low nominal interest rates and didn’t signal to markets that another rate hike was forthcoming. We saw increased uncertainty in the markets on Thursday, one day after the Fed’s policy statement came out, but the Fed’s reflections had little to do with the market movements.
While in the US, unemployment claims hit a 42-year low of 247,000, which easily beat the 257,000 forecast. But US GDP increased by a 0.5-percent annual rate in the first quarter, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2014 and below the 0.7-percent consensus estimate.
This paradox of a strong jobs market with tepid GDP growth has put the Federal Reserve in a bind. In its April statement released, the Fed decided to maintain near-zero interest rates despite noting that global risks had eased over the last several weeks.
Investors aren’t expecting the Fed to raise rates anytime soon with a majority of investors citing December as the most likely time for the Fed to rise rates again, according to the CME Group Fed Watch.
Additionally, the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) shocked markets Wednesday by deciding to keep its monetary policy unchanged.
Now what needs to be watched is the action coming in for gold from the sidelined factors. Moreover what needs to be assessed is how the dollar will behave this week since currency continues to be the predominant driver in most commodity markets for the moment.
This surge in prices was influence by nervous stock markets which raised gold’s safe haven demand. Currently A confluence of monetary and financial factors is supporting gold prices.
A solidly lower U.S. dollar index that hit an eight-month low Friday and Nymex crude oil prices that notched a five-month high are bullish "outside market" forces that are also propelling gold and silver prices higher.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve continued its historically low nominal interest rates and didn’t signal to markets that another rate hike was forthcoming. We saw increased uncertainty in the markets on Thursday, one day after the Fed’s policy statement came out, but the Fed’s reflections had little to do with the market movements.
While in the US, unemployment claims hit a 42-year low of 247,000, which easily beat the 257,000 forecast. But US GDP increased by a 0.5-percent annual rate in the first quarter, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2014 and below the 0.7-percent consensus estimate.
This paradox of a strong jobs market with tepid GDP growth has put the Federal Reserve in a bind. In its April statement released, the Fed decided to maintain near-zero interest rates despite noting that global risks had eased over the last several weeks.
Investors aren’t expecting the Fed to raise rates anytime soon with a majority of investors citing December as the most likely time for the Fed to rise rates again, according to the CME Group Fed Watch.
Additionally, the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) shocked markets Wednesday by deciding to keep its monetary policy unchanged.
Now what needs to be watched is the action coming in for gold from the sidelined factors. Moreover what needs to be assessed is how the dollar will behave this week since currency continues to be the predominant driver in most commodity markets for the moment.
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The primary purpose of this article by Mr. Prithviraj Kothari is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.
- Previous blog -
"BEST QUARTER FOR BULLION SINCE THREE DECADES: RSBL"
http://riddisiddhibullionsltd.blogspot.in/2016/04/best-quarter-for-bullion-since-three.html
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