Gold has found some support with the price edging back up to $1,830 an ounce after a challenging February in which the precious metal slumped to its lowest level for two months.
This stabilisation and slight recovery highlight the strength of consumer and central bank buying that remains for gold, with the recent price drop likely to have sparked interest from price-sensitive buyers in countries such as India and China and may well have also prompted the central banks from those same countries to top up their holdings.
With interest rates set to continue rising for a little while yet, this is likely to be the dynamic for gold over the coming months. Pressure from rate hikes and hawkish rhetoric from central bankers will make it difficult for gold to make considerable gains but on the other side, any significant dips in the price are likely to see sufficient buying activity from Asia in particular to ensure that gold doesn’t dip far below $1,800 an ounce.
A concern for gold and indeed markets more broadly is how high inflation remains in Europe with the latest figures this week showing consumer prices continuing to rise at a worryingly fast rate. This will increase the pressure on the European Central Bank to hike rates more aggressively and reduce gold’s appeal. However, while the ECB is a significant player, the Federal Reserve has far more sway on gold’s price direction so as long as inflation continues its downtrend in the US then gold should be able to shrug off the bulk of European rate hikes.
Rupert is a Market Analyst for Kinesis Money, responsible for updating the community with insights and analysis on the gold and silver markets. He brings with him a breadth of experience in writing about energy and commodities having worked as an oil markets reporter and then precious metals reporter during the seven years he worked at Bloomberg News.
As well as market analysis, Rupert writes longer-form thought leadership pieces on topics ranging from carbon markets, the growth of renewable energy and the challenges of avoiding greenwash while investing sustainably.
This publication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a solicitation, offering or recommendation of any security, commodity, derivative, investment management service or advisory service and is not commodity trading advice. This publication does not intend to provide investment, tax or legal advice on either a general or specific basis.
