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Gold Price News: Gold Ends Lower in Subdued Market
Gold prices ended marginally lower on Friday, capping a lacklustre week for the yellow metal, as the market lacked convincing momentum in either direction.
Prices eased as low as $2,325 an ounce on Friday, having briefly spiked as high as $2,360 an ounce. That compared with around $2,344 an ounce in late trades on Thursday.
Most of the action seen through the week took place within $15 either side of $2,345 an ounce. The relative stability contrasted with the previous week, when gold prices hit an all-time high of $2,450 an ounce on May 20.
Gold’s initial strength on Friday followed US Core PCE Price Index figures released Friday afternoon, which came in at a 0.2% rise for April vs March levels. That was below market expectations of a 0.3% rise, and marked the smallest increase so far in 2024. Read More
Silver Price News: Silver Gives Up Gains to End Flat Week-On-Week
Silver prices fell back below $30.50 an ounce on Friday, taking a lead from lower gold prices, and ending the week almost unchanged from a week ago.
Prices had reached a high of over $32.30 an ounce during the middle of the week, but Thursday and Friday saw prices fall back below $30.50.
Both gold and silver prices came under pressure late Friday after US President Joe Biden unveiled an Israeli proposal to end the war with Hamas in Gaza. Recent hostilities have injected a risk premium into precious metals prices, and any prospect of a permanent ceasefire represents a bearish factor for prices in that context.
Silver’s price action through the week means the price will be closely watched to determine if a ‘double top’ has emerged. This would be confirmed if prices fall below $30.00 an ounce. Such an outcome would be taken as bearish from a technical perspective, as it implies a loss of bullish momentum in the second half of May. Read More
'We are potentially in a world of escalating prices over the long run' - Bart Melek on gold's draw
(Kitco News) - A number of macro factors favor gold and silver, said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.
This week, Melek recorded an episode of Green Rush with Matt Watson, founder of Precious Metals Commodity Management.
The two discussed gold's recent run. The metal has made several all-time highs this year.
Gold production requires real labor, capital, and energy. It's a tangible store of value and a protector of wealth, noted Watson and Melek. During inflationary periods, investors turn to gold as a safe haven, as demonstrated by recent rallies in gold and silver prices.
"It takes real labor and real capital, and it takes energy to get those physical products from the ground," said Melek, and all those costs have been going up. "We are potentially in a world of escalating prices for the long run." Watch the video
Correction: Gold prices jump as U.S. ISM manufacturing falls to 48.7
The gold market has renewed momentum, holding sold gains above $2,350 an ounce, as the U.S. manufacturing sector loses more momentum, falling deeper into contraction territory.
On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing index dropped to 48.7% in May, compared to April’s reading of 49.2%. The data was weaker than expected, as consensus forecasts looked for a slight improvement to 49.8.
“U.S. manufacturing activity continued in contraction after growing in March, the first expansion for the sector since September 2022. Demand was soft again, output was stable, and inputs stayed accommodative,” said Timothy Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Read More
Decent gains for gold as USDX sells off, U.S. bond yields fall
Gold prices are moderately higher near midday Monday. Silver prices are slightly up. Amid a lack of fresh, markets-moving news to start the trading week, the precious metals market traders are looking at the key “outside markets” that are leaning friendly for metals prices. The U.S. dollar index is lower today and U.S. Treasury yields have down-ticked. August gold was last up $13.10 at $2,359.60. July silver was last up $0.07 at $30.49.
The U.S. data point of the week, if not the month, comes with Friday’s May employment situation report from the Labor Department. The key non-farm payrolls number is seen coming in at up 178,000 versus the April report showing a gain of 175,000 jobs.
Technically, August gold bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage but have faded. A bearish double-top reversal pattern has formed on the daily bar chart to suggest a near-term market top is in place. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the contract high of $2,477.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at the May low of $2,308.70. First resistance is seen at Friday’s high of $2,381.20 and then at last week’s high of $2,388.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of $2,334.80 and then at $2,325.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.0.
Image Source: Kitco News
July silver futures bulls have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. However, a four-week-old uptrend on the daily bar chart has stalled out. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the May high of $32.75. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $29.00. First resistance is seen at $31.00 and then at $31.50. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $29.94 and then at $29.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.0. Read More
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BOLD: Bitcoin and gold combined provide an effective hedge against inflation – Charlie Morris
For investors in Bitcoin (BTC) AND gold, May saw the value of their portfolios keep pace with the rise in the stock market, according to Charlie Morris, founder and Chief Investment Officer at ByteTree.
To help track the performance of Bitcoin and gold versus other assets, Morris uses the Vinter ByteTree BOLD1 Index (BOLD). This index invests in both assets on a risk-adjusted basis using past volatility, calculated using daily price movements.
“Due to their naturally low correlation, the diversification benefits of holding both assets have been unusually high,” a Monday report from Morris said. “Bitcoin prefers risk-on market conditions, while Gold prefers risk-off.” Read More
The Costco gold standard - retailer sparks notable shift in retail purchasing behavior
Costco continues to see an insatiable appetite for physical gold and silver, which is helping to transform the marketplace.
Last week, the North American retailer published its third quarter results for the fiscal year, announcing a 9.1% increase in net sales to $57.39 billion, up from $52.60 billion last year.
At the same time, the company said it saw a 20.7% jump in online sales.
"Total e-commerce sales growth in the quarter was led by gold and silver bullions, gift cards and appliances," Costco Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip told investors Thursday in a conference call.
Millerchip provided no further insights into its gold and silver bullion sales. However, Costco’s precious metals strategy appears to be evolving in line with analyst expectations. Read More
ECB-Fed divergence could muddy gold price forecasts, solar drives record-high silver premiums in China – Heraeus
The expected ECB-Fed divergence will complicate things for gold investors, while solar demand is driving silver premiums in China to record highs, according to precious metals strategists at Heraeus.
In their latest precious metals report, the analysts noted that despite a down week, gold prices have still managed to stay above $2,300 per ounce. “Friday’s US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index of 2.7% reinforced the message that the Fed’s first rate cut may arrive later than other major economies, most notably in the EU,” they said.
Heraeus sees the ECB cutting rates ahead of the Fed as a potential positive for European bullion investors. “The Eurozone maintained relatively cool inflation of 2.4% in April, an environment possibly enabling monetary easing for the ECB sooner rather than later,” they wrote. “The market has already started to price in an ECB rate cut at its meeting on 6 June. If effected, the increasing differential between the US and EU’s interest rates could weaken the euro, especially if the Fed delays a rate cut on its side.” Read More
UK Snap election drives consumers to gold market - British Royal Mint
Commodity analysts worldwide have been bullish on gold, in part due to rising geopolitical uncertainty as nearly 50% of the world’s population heads to the polls.
Another country has been added to the list of more than 80 countries holding elections this year. Last month, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a snap election, with voters heading to the polls on July 4.
Analysts do not expect that the UK elections will have a significant impact on geopolitical uncertainty, driving safe-haven demand for gold; however, data from the British Royal Mint tells a slightly different story.
In a note published Monday, the Royal Mint said that bullion demand has increased since Sunak dropped the writ.
“Since the snap election was called, there has been a 49% increase in the number of customers buying precious metals bullion through The Royal Mint, while the volume of gold purchases has doubled (up 117%) from the previous week. The Royal Mint’s bullion division has seen customer spending increase by 145% week-on-week while there has been a 10% uplift in first-time investors,” the mint said in a statement. Read More
India repatriates over 100 tonnes of gold from BoE to RBI vaults, amount could double in coming months
Over 100 tonnes of gold have been moved from the United Kingdom to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) vaults in one of the most ambitious transfers of the precious metal ever undertaken, and that amount could double in the coming months, according to a report from The Times of India published Friday.
Up until now, over half of the RBI’s gold reserves were being held with the Bank of England (BoE) and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) overseas, but the Indian government has begun the process of repatriating the country’s bullion holdings.
As of March 31, 2024, the RBI’s total gold reserves were listed at 822.1 tonnes, up from 794.63 tonnes in March of 2023, and 413.8 tonnes of that total was held overseas.
The Bank of England has long served as the storehouse for the bullion reserves of a large number of central banks, including those of India, with some of the country’s gold reserves housed in the UK since before Independence in 1947. Read More
Gold Futures Regain Momentum as Economic Concerns Intensify
Gold futures found renewed strength on Monday, closing back above the crucial 50-day moving average, as economic data fueled expectations of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year.
Friday’s close took gold futures to its lowest price point since hitting the record high of $2477.10, and a record close of $2461.40 on Monday, May 20. What followed was a dramatic and strong three-day price decline, reaching a low of $2351 on Thursday, May 23. Between Wednesday, May 22, and Thursday the 23rd, gold declined just over $88 per troy ounce and consolidated trading sideways until gold traded to its low last Friday.
Image Source: Kitco News
This recovery was driven by a weaker U.S. dollar, which declined 0.53% to 104.09, its lowest level since April 9.
The first signs of a potential resurgence in gold prices was largely attributed to mounting concerns over the state of the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that U.S. manufacturing activity slowed for the second consecutive month in May, with new goods orders dropping at the fastest pace in nearly two years. Read More
Live From The Vault - Episode: 175
Beijing boosts bullion buying
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire sounds the alarm on China’s advanced dedollarisation progress, and sheds light on the market drivers of gold demand that you won’t hear about in the mainstream media.
Outlining what to expect from the end of this year’s second quarter, the London whistleblower takes listeners through the action that could take gold to $3000 an ounce, before delivering crucial updates on silver and the BRICS currency.
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
