Gold is headed for its fourth straight monthly decline in July, thelongest such streak since 2013, points out commodities brokerage SP Angel. Thishas occurred as investors turned to the U.S. dollar as the Federal Reserveremains on a path of monetary tightening, plus global trade tensions flare, thefirm adds. As of 9:28 a.m. EDT, Comex December gold was down $2.80 for the dayto $1,228.70 an ounce. The metal ended June at $1,266.30. “The precious metal has fallen out of favor as Fedpolicymakers boosted rates twice this year, and they’re expected to affirmplans for two more hikes at a meeting this week,” SP Angel says. “With holdingsin exchange-traded funds shrinking, funds have been building up their bets on furtherdeclines in prices.”
By Allen Sykoraof Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Tuesday July 31, 2018 09:45
Gold may facefurther pressure due to the metals’ inverse correlation with the recentlystronger U.S. dollar, saysLukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM. As of 9:29 a.m. EDT, spot gold wasdown $3.80 to $1,217.60, bottoming at just above $1,215, not far from the Julylow near $1,212 that was the weakest level in more than a year. “The yellow metal has clearly struggledto register any meaningful recovery in recent weeks, despite global tradetensions creating uncertainty and stimulating risk aversion,” Otunuga says.“With the yellow metal likely to remain highly sensitive to the negativecorrelation against the dollar, further losses may be witnessed moving forward.Investors may be offered a fresh opportunity to send the zero-yielding metallower this week if the Federal Reserve strikes a hawkish tone and Friday’s U.S.jobs report exceeds market expectations.” Gold’s picture on the technicalcharts is “heavily bearish,” the analyst says. “A solid breakdown below $1,213could trigger a decline towards the psychological $1,200 level. Bears remain infirm control below the $1,234 resistance level.”
By Allen SykoraFor Kitco News
Follow @AllenSykora