CNBC: After Disappearing for Two Quarters, Gold Buyers are Back, and the Metal Could Keep Going Higher
Article by Patti Domm on CNBC financial
Gold prices are on the rise after lagging through the middle part of the year, and some analysts expect the precious metal to continue moving higher into next year.
Gold futures for December rose 0.7 percent Monday to $1,230 per troy ounce and were up 3.5 percent in the last week.
"We have a bullish outlook through the end of the year and into next year," said Jim Steel, chief precious metals analyst at HSBC. "Our average is $1,274 this year which means we'd continue to have a drive up into the end of the year."
Steel said the metal traded lower as the dollar gained in the second and third quarters, and safe haven flows favored the dollar and Treasury notes. Steel said physical demand is picking up in China.
"It was severely oversold below $1,200. We did get a pickup in physical emerging market demand and a further reduction in scrap supply, and the market tightened a little bit, and that helped it move higher," said Steel. "The real catalyst for the jerk higher in the last few days has been the equity market wobble."
Bart Melek, head of commodities strategy at TD Securities, said the stock market sell-off has been a factor, and so has the decline in the 10-year yield from its recent just above 3.25 percent back to 3.15 percent. But the risk-off move may have given way to another catalyst. "Now there's a view the Fed might not be as aggressive," he said
Melek said gold should keep rising into next year, particularly as it becomes more clear how much the Fed is going to tighten.
"Predominantly it's been a dollar story with the underlying view of the Fed and broader central bank policy working for the dollar," he said. "We had it come off and people are realizing that maybe the whole super long dollar story may not keep up and acknowledge the Fed may not remain committed to the course because of what's happening to the equity markets."
Steel expects the stock market to remain volatile, and gold will hold onto its position as a safe haven in the long term.
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