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Silver Price News: Silver Finds Support to Hint at Positive Change in Fortunes
Silver’s February slump looks to have stopped with the metal finding support above $21.50 an ounce to now be making small gains.
Silver has had a curious start to the year so far with the price first treading water before this month’s decline despite the fundamental outlook pointing to the precious metal continuing the recovery it started in the final quarter of 2022.
Today brings the release of the latest minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee with investors keen to gain insights into the US central bank’s thinking behind the recent 25 basis point interest rate increase as well as the Fed’s outlook for future moves. Read More
Gold Price News: Gold Nears Lowest Level This Year Ahead of Fed Minutes
Gold is trading barely above $1,830 an ounce, close to its lowest level this year as the markets await the release of the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee later today.
Gold has suffered since expectations on how much longer the Fed will continue to increase its benchmark interest rates turned more hawkish. Today’s publication of the rationale behind the 25 basis point hike at the start of this month as well as the committee’s outlook for future moves will therefore have a significant impact on gold’s short-term fortunes.
Having raced up close to $1,950 an ounce in January based on a future scenario of the Fed soon pausing its hikes, gold suffered a sharp reality check when a range of US central bankers reiterated the need for more hikes to well and truly curb inflation. Read More
Gold's medium-term fundamentals remain bullish even if prices fall below $1,800 - Analysts
Gold sentiment is clearly bearish as markets look for the Federal Reserve to maintain an aggressive higher-for-longer monetary policy stance. But analysts are not giving up on the precious metal just yet, with some looking for higher prices by the end of the year.
Gold prices have fallen $140 this month from January's nine-month high above $1,950 an ounce. Gold has struggled to attract consistent upside momentum as short-term bond yields continue to rise, with the yield on U.S. two-year notes hovering around 4.60%, near its highest level since 2007.
The sharp rise in U.S. bond yields has provided new bullish momentum for the greenback, with the U.S. dollar index holding the line around 104 points.
Despite the headwinds, in his latest research note, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that he is maintaining his medium-term bullish outlook for gold as he believes the Federal Reserve will be unable to win out against the global rise in inflation.
"We still view the medium-term outlook for inflation falling to below 2.5% as being somewhat optimistic, compared with our forecast closer to 4%," Hansen said. "First, however, we will see several months where inflation will continue to decline before rising wage pressures, China's recovery lifting the cost of raw materials will be felt."
Hansen added that in the near term, he expects to see further weakness in gold and is watching the $1.788 area as the next level of major support. Read More
Gold sees little price movement in wake of FOMC minutes
Gold and silver prices are modestly lower in afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday, in the immediate aftermath of fresh data from the U.S. Federal Reserve. April gold was last down $1.90 at $1,840.70 and March silver was down $0.265 at $21.625.
The U.S. data point of the day Wednesday saw the minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) say members agreed on a continued restrictive U.S. monetary policy until inflation is on a sustained path to 2% annually—which will take some time. Some Fed officials wanted a 0.5% rate hike at last month’s FOMC meeting. The FOMC raised the key Fed funds range by only 0.25% last month, which was favored by most FOMC members. The marketplace initially deems the FOMC minutes as containing no big surprises to move the markets. It’s important to note the FOMC meeting took place before the January U.S. jobs report that was much stronger than expected.
Technically, April gold futures bears have the slight overall near-term technical advantage. A fledgling downtrend is in place on the daily chart. Bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at last week’s high of $1,881.60. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,800.00. First resistance is seen at this week’s high of $1,856.40 and then at $1,870.90. First support is seen at last week’s low of $1,827.70 and then at $1,815.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.5.
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March silver futures bears have the overall near-term technical advantage. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $23.00. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $21.00. First resistance is seen at last week’s high of $22.085 and then at $22.31. Next support is seen at the February low of $21.155 and then at $21.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.0. Read More
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Gold price 'fragile' at current levels, eyes on Fed uncertainty - MKS PAMP
The gold market is "fragile" after it failed to hold the $1,850 an ounce level. And more defensive-type trading could be in store if there is uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's intentions, said MKS PAMP.
All eyes are on Fed speakers and the FOMC meeting minutes from February monetary policy meeting. Markets have been taken aback by solid macro data, stubborn inflation, and the possibility of the fed funds rate going higher and staying there for longer.
"The resilience in U.S. data (payrolls/inflation/retail/PMIs) has driven a renewed fear over a 'higher for longer' Fed, which has kept risk/equities relatively buoyed while slamming gold and thus other precious metals throughout February," said MSK PAMP metals strategist Nicky Shiels.
The gold market went from a rally in January on expectations that the Fed will soon pause its tightening cycle to February's selloff based on the apprehension surrounding the U.S. central bank's next moves.
"If there is more uncertainty around the Fed’s trajectory, the defensiveness (selling rallies) will continue," Shiels said Tuesday.
There is also talk of this idea of "no landing," which is weighing on the gold price. "Neither a hard nor a soft landing, the newly-coined 'no landing' outcome, suggests the economy will avoid a recession entirely," Shiels explained. Read More
Gold prices drop as FOMC minutes shows some central bankers supported a 50-bps hike in February
Gold prices are trading near session lows as the minutes from the Federal Reserve's February monetary policy meeting show some members supported further aggressive action.
At the start of the month, in a widely anticipated move, the Federal Reserve unanimously decided to raise interest rates by 25 basis points; however, the minutes show that some members favored a 50 basis point move.
"A few participants stated that they favored raising the target range for the federal funds rate 50 basis points at this meeting or that they could have supported raising the target by that amount. The participants favoring a 50-basis point increase noted that a larger increase would more quickly bring the target range close to the levels they believed would achieve a sufficiently restrictive stance, taking into account their views of the risks to achieving price stability in a timely way," the minutes said.
While gold prices have dropped into negative territory in the initial reaction to the minutes, the price action remains fairly muted. April gold futures last traded at $1,838.40 an ounce, down 0.22% on the day.
Not only did some central bank committee members support more aggressive action, but the entire committee agreed that more rate hikes would be needed to bring inflation down. The minutes also showed that the Federal Reserve wants to maintain its aggressive policy stance for longer than initially expected.
"With inflation still well above the Committee's longer-run goal, participants generally noted that upside risks to the inflation outlook remained a key factor shaping the policy outlook, and that maintaining a restrictive policy stance until inflation is clearly on a path toward 2 percent is appropriate from a risk management perspective," the minutes said. Read More
Turkey's gold imports from Switzerland hit the highest level on record in January
Turkey's appetite for gold is not waning, as Switzerland shipped the most gold on record to the country, according to Swiss customs data.
Turkey imported 58.3 tonnes of gold from Switzerland worth $3.6 billion in January — the largest amount in any month on record going back to 2012. The latest data showed that the Swiss monthly gold exports to Turkey were never higher than 34 tonnes before January.
The spike in gold demand continues last year's trend and demonstrates Turkey's growing appetite for the precious metal amid high inflation, currency devaluation, and economic instability.
Switzerland exported 188 tonnes of gold last year. For comparison, in 2021, Switzerland exported only 11 tonnes of gold to Turkey.
Turkey also saw its current-account deficit widen to $48.8 billion in 2022 — the highest level since mid-2018. Gold imports accounted for $20.4 billion in 2022, which weighed heavily on the deficit.
In January, Turkey imported $5.1 billion worth of gold overall, according to the country's trade minister Mehmet Mus. Read More
Federal Reserve minutes were released today, "But Wait There's More"
The Fed's hawkish monetary policy seeks to raise its benchmark Fed funds rate to a target just above 5%, and keep that rate elevated until incoming data provide confidence that inflation is on a sustained downward path to 2%.
The minutes revealed that Federal Reserve members almost unanimously anticipate that it is appropriate to raise its Fed funds rate by 25 basis points at the next FOMC meeting scheduled to be held in March, although two officials favored a larger 50 basis point hike.
"Market participants interpreted incoming data as pointing to moderating inflation risks. Against this backdrop, market participants judged that the FOMC would likely slow the pace of rate increases further at the current meeting, and respondents to the Desk's Survey of Primary Dealers and Survey of Market Participants widely expected the Committee to implement a ¼ percentage point increase in the target range for the federal funds rate."
The release of the Fed minutes today created bullish momentum for the dollar and concurrently more sustained bearish momentum for gold. The dollar gained 0.36% today or 37 points fixing the dollar index at 104.485.
Image Source: Kitco News
As of 5:10 PM EST, the most active April contract of gold futures is down $8.30 or 0.45% and fixed at $1834.20. Today's decline effectively sealed the fate of gold's strong price decline in February. Gold pricing is now below the opening price of January 3, the first trading day of the year. Read More
Robert Kiyosaki: The dollar is 'fake,' this is why the American empire is at its 'end'
Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author of the 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' series, explains why he thinks the dollar is 'fake,' and why he prefers assets that 'cannot be printed,' like gold, silver, Bitcoin, and even Wagyu cattle. He spoke with Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News, at the VRIC Conference.
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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.
