Today's Gold and Silver News: 17-01-2023

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Silver Price News: Could Recent Gains be the Start of Silver Surge?

Silver is showing signs that its period of treading water around $24 an ounce may finally be over as the price nudged higher to briefly trade at its highest level since April.

Silver has experienced a more passive start to 2023 while its peer, gold, has marched sharply higher. The environment seems perfect for silver to enjoy a sustained rally, with the metal in hot demand among industry and the prospect of the Federal Reserve’s run of interest rate hikes ending in the coming months. Yet despite this bullish outlook, silver has barely moved, causing puzzlement as to what has been holding it back. Read More

Gold Price News: Gold Dips Slightly as Markets Consider Fed’s Next Steps

Gold has started a new trading week with a small dip as markets experience a slight reappraisal of where the true value lies after a promising start to the year.

The key question that traders and investors are trying to work out is how soon the Federal Reserve, and other central banks around the world, will be able to let the pressure off on their interest rate hikes now that inflation finally looks to be falling. Gold has enjoyed a great run since early November to climb above $1,900 an ounce and reach levels last seen in April last year. The main catalyst of those gains has been the belief in markets that the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hikes and that 2023 will only see a few more small increments. 

This belief has come despite the Fed continuing to raise rates in December and is likely to do so again at its next meeting while a series of Fed officials have stated the need for rates to keep rising for a while yet to ensure that inflation is well and truly curbed. Read More

Gold testing key resistance at $1,920 as Yellen warns Congress that U.S. could hit debt limit Jan. 19

The gold market has pushed to new session highs Friday afternoon after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States would likely hit its statutory debt limit on Jan. 19.

The warning has created some renewed safe-haven demand for the precious metal. February gold futures last traded at $1,919.90 an ounce, up more than 1% on the day.

At the same time, analysts have said that the $1,920 level represents a significant resistance point.

In a letter to Congress, Yellen said that as early as next week, the Treasury would be forced to take "extraordinary measures" to prevent a default.

"Once the limit is reached, Treasury will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations," Yellen said in the letter.

She urged lawmakers to act quickly to raise the debt ceiling but said Congress should have a few months to resolve the issue. Read More

Gold sentiment is solidly bullish as prices end the week above $1,900

Gold prices are looking to end the first full trading week of 2023 at an eight-month high. While the precious metal could be considered overbought, sentiment in the marketplace points to higher prices in the near term.

Kitco News' first Weekly Gold Survey of 2023 shows sentiment among both Wall Street analysts and Main Street investors is solidly bullish, with many analysts suggesting that it's only a matter of time before the $2,000-an-ounce target is reached.

"There is a gravitational pull to $2,000 and will only build as prices continue to move higher," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.

While momentum favors higher prices, analysts are warning investors not to chase the market.

"Gold prices will be going higher, but I am willing to wait and be patient for a pullback," Streible said. "In the short-term, I think to look to buy the dips."

Daniel Pavilonis, senior commodities broker with RJO Futures, said that he is also bullish on gold but recommends investors don't buy at current levels.

"If you are on the sidelines and not in the gold market, then I would wait for a pullback," he said. "If you are long, now might be a good time to take some profits and then look to get back in on a pullback." Read More

With gold ending the week above $1,900, analysts turn their focus to $2,000

The gold market is ending the week at a nine-month high as renewed safe-haven demand pushed prices above $1,920 an ounce, which some analysts highlighted as an important resistance level.

Analysts have said that rising economic uncertainty and shifting market fundamentals could help push prices back to $2,000 sooner than expected.

February gold futures are looking to close the week with roughly a 1% gain, with prices last trading at $1,922.80 an ounce.

"There is a gravitational pull to $2,000 and it will only build as prices continue to move higher," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.

Gold's late afternoon rally came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter to Congress warning lawmakers that the government could hit its debt limit on Jan. 19.

Growing fears that the U.S. could potentially default on its debt obligations have increased recently as the Republican Party's slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to complicate negotiations. Some Republican politicians have already said that any rise in the debt limit needs to be accompanied by deep spending cuts.

"We knew the debt issue was going to be a problem in 2023, but we weren't expecting it to rise to prominence so soon," said Edward Moya, senior North American market analyst at OANDA. "The short-term reaction in gold is warranted, giving how much uncertainty there currently is." Read More

Gold prices seen rising towards record highs as rate rises near end

Gold prices are expected to rise towards record highs above $2,000 an ounce this year, albeit with a little turbulence, as the United States slows the pace of rate hikes and eventually stops increasing them, according to industry analysts.

Spot prices of the precious metal have shot above $1,900 an ounce, surging by about 18% since early November as inflationary pressures recede and markets anticipate less aggressive monetary policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Fast-rising interest rates hammered gold prices last year, kicking them as low as $1,613.60 in September from a high of $2,069.89 in March - just shy of a record peak in 2020.

Higher rates lifted returns on bonds, making non-yielding gold less desirable for financial investors, and pushed the dollar to its strongest in 20 years, making dollar-priced gold costlier for many buyers. ,

The weakening U.S. currency and bond yields "will become macro tailwinds for the yellow metal, pushing gold above $2,000/oz in the coming months," said analysts at Bank of America.

With less pressure from the dollar and bonds, investors are likely to buy bullion as a hedge against inflation and economic turbulence, said WisdomTree analyst Nitesh Shah, adding that prices could easily move above $2,100 an ounce by year-end.

Gold is traditionally seen as a safe place to store wealth. "The risk of central banks overdoing it and pushing their economies into recession is high," said Shah. Read More

Gold's bull market is just beginning as European fund managers take a bigger stake - HANetf

The gold market has started 2023 on solid footing and one European-based fund sees strong potential as investors take a renewed interest in the precious metal.

In November, analysts at HANetf surveyed 100 European and British wealth fund managers, and according to the results, 89% of respondents said that they intend to increase their exposure to gold in 2023.

According to the survey, wealth fund managers see central bank demand for gold as a major bullish factor for the precious metal. According to data from the World Gold Council, last year, as of the end of the third quarter, central banks bought 673 tonnes of gold, the most accumulated in a single year since 1967.

The survey shows that 83% of managers expect central banks to continue buying gold in the new year.

Along with central bank demand, wealth fund managers said that gold remains an attractive inflation hedge and protection against further equity market volatility and risk.

When the survey was conducted, gold prices were trading near a two-year low and according to the survey, fund managers said those prices represented an attractive long-term entry point.

"It now may be the case that a lot of the negative sentiment towards gold has passed," said Tom Bailey, head of ETF research at HANetf, in the report. "Many analysts now see the Federal Reserve slowing rate hikes, while the dollar's strength now seems potentially in retreat. That should provide some relief for gold prices and potentially result in a pick-up in investment demand. Read More

LBMA blindsided by Russia buying physical gold

In the first Live from the Vault of 2023, Andrew Maguire reports on Russia’s Sberbank issuing its first gold-based blockchain asset in a game-changing manoeuvre that might instigate further de-dollarisation of commodity trading.

The precious metals expert provides an in-depth commentary on the LBMA’s recent presentation on physical silver, which has indeliberately exposed some of the market's price-setting machinations.

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.