Gold is ending the week by making a tentative recovery, underlying the strength of support that remains for the precious metal at $1,700 an ounce despite the hawkish macroeconomic environment.
A week in which the European Central Bank has raised its benchmark rate by 75 basis points and with the Federal Reserve expected to implement a similar sized move later this month wouldn’t naturally be conducive for gold.
Yet while today’s gains towards $1,725 an ounce shouldn’t be misconstrued as the start of a significant recovery, the fact that gold hasn’t sunk further shows that investors still see a role for gold with economies across the world on the brink of or already in recession.
Gold fell sharply earlier in the summer – losing $100 in a matter of weeks – when traders realised that positive US economic data wouldn’t soften the Fed’s aggressive approach to bring inflation back down to its 2% target.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments are consistent with his speech at Jackson Hole last month, and have caused a limited impact on the gold price with the likelihood of another 75 basis point hike later this month now priced in.
This week’s price action suggests that gold has found its natural level for the time being with the threat of a global recession as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine providing enough support to keep it above $1,700 despite the strength of the US dollar and the likelihood of many more rate hikes over the coming months.
Therefore for the price to materially move it would need the next move by the Fed to greatly surpass or underwhelm expectations.
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.
