Sep 23

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – September 16-20, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,317.60
Weekly High: $1,371.20
Weekly Low: $1,293.50
Friday Close: $1,325.50

Gold prices responded to one major factor in the economic marketplace this week: the Federal Reserve announcing it will not start pulling back its loose monetary policy quite yet. The news was announced on Wednesday afternoon, to which the gold market responded by gaining 4.4% almost immediately. The rest of the American stock market responded positively as well, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding a quick 100 points during the feverish trading window.

The week started out low, however, with gold on the decline Monday and Tuesday, drawn down in response to some positive U.S. economic factors. The cost of living was reported to have risen less than expected, and the Consumer Price Index reported less-than-expected growth. Tuesday prices ended low on anticipation of the Fed’s address on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s spike bled into Thursday as traders were still digesting the news that the Fed will still continue to pour money into the market through their stimulus program. However, gold lost nearly all its gains from the week on Friday when St. Louis Fed President James Bullard made a statement saying that it could be as soon as October that the tapering program begins. Gold lost 2.8% to close the week slightly higher than it began.

Sep 16

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – September 9-13, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,386.60
Weekly High: $1,387.40
Weekly Low: $1,308.00
Friday Close: $1,323.40

Syria and the Federal Reserve were the two main factors influencing the gold market this week, and both can account for the week’s steady decline. After last week’s ramp up in the gold market due to increased pressure about a possible U.S. military strike on Syria, this week followed with de-escalation of the conflict, and therefore a drop in the safe haven demand of gold.

Monday began this steady decline when Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S. will be exploring a diplomatic agreement with Russia to eliminate Syria’s store of chemical weapons, thereby avoiding any warfare. Tuesday reached a three-week low on continued speculation about Syria.

The beginning of the week’s drop in prices was also influenced by continued talk that the Federal Reserve will start its tapering program soon. Gold has dropped 17% in 2013 so far after a decade of gains, largely due to an improved U.S. economy, and some analysts believe this trend will continue throughout the rest of the year.

By Wednesday, the price of gold had dropped to $1,363 by lunchtime due to the Assad regime in Syria accepting Russia’s nonviolent plan to disarm the country of chemical weapons in order to avoid a U.S. airstrike. With the Syrian crisis all but over, gold prices continued to plummet.

Thursday saw gold hit a fresh four-week low on improved jobs claims reports in the U.S. and anticipation of next week’s FOMC meeting, in which many expect the Federal Reserve to announce the end of its loose monetary policy. Friday continued this train of thought, and the week ended only slightly above the $1,300 mark.

Sep 09

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – September 2-6, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,389.90
Weekly High: $1,415.20
Weekly Low: $1,366.90
Friday Close: $1,389.20

Tensions in Syria continued to influence gold this week, and other global economic news also registered on gold’s radar.

Monday was a quiet day as U.S. traders stepped away from their computers for the Labor Day holiday. Overall, the yellow metal was little changed on the first day of the week.

Tuesday began the upward swing of the week, with traders returning to their desks to sweep up some of the lower gold prices for short-term trading. The continued question of a military strike on Syria was slightly revved up on Tuesday, as it seemed Congress might support President Obama’s plan to attack Syria for using chemical weapons. Traders returned to the gold market Tuesday on some increased safe haven buying.

Tensions eased slightly on Wednesday, causing some pullback from the stress trading. Prices also dipped on profit taking from the previous day’s wins. The U.S. Federal Reserve released an economic report Wednesday afternoon that showed the U.S. economy officially growing mildly to moderately, depending on sector. This news was not surprising, so it did little to affect market conditions.

Thursday morning was quiet on the gold trading front as traders anticipated a slew of U.S. economic data to be released in the afternoon. Sure enough, this data was positive and so caused a slump in the gold market. The reports included the weekly jobless claims report, the ADP national employment report, chain store sales trends, and more.

Even so, it was the U.S. jobs report Friday morning that people were anticipating, since many believe a positive report can influence the Fed to start their tapering program earlier rather than later. It was good news for gold bugs, however, with the unemployment rate falling one point to 7.3%, which was still behind expectations. The decrease was also not because people were getting new jobs but because people were leaving the work force, according to analysts. The non-farm payroll report was also lower than expected. Therefore, Friday afternoon saw prices rise to end the week near to where it began.

The Syrian conflict and the Federal Reserve’s decision about when to start the tapering program will likely influence gold prices next week.

Sep 02

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – August 26-30, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,393.90
Weekly High: $1,424.50
Weekly Low: $1,393.20
Friday Close: $1,394.50

This week’s gold price chart looks like a bell curve because mid-week spiked high in response to the Syrian crisis, then fell to close the week nearly as it started. Monday afternoon started the upward trend as gold broke the $1,400 price mark on safe haven trading related to the crisis in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement that the U.S. believes Syria used chemical weapons against its citizens, a global war crime that President Obama said may be punished with a missile attack. George Gero, analyst at RBC, called the steady rising of gold prices in relation to the crisis, a “small fear premium.”

Tuesday continued the Syrian response trend to land gold a fresh three-month high, as the U.S. seemed poised to take military action in an already unstable Middle East.

Wednesday saw gold hit the week’s high, and also an all-time high against the Indian rupee. A faltering rupee could be bullish for gold, because even though gold is now more expensive to buy for those using the rupee, it reinforces the psychology behind why gold is important to have for the gold-savvy Indian consumers. Wednesday was a 3.5 month high for gold.

Thursday saw gold slipping back down from its mid-week high on profit-taking and a less nervous approach to Syria, after President Obama released a statement overnight that the U.S. does not plan on attacking Syria. U.S. allies are also not in agreement about what to do with Syria.

Friday’s extension of Thursday’s news continued to quell the anxiety over Syria, and so the marketplace responded by trading out of safe haven assets like gold, bringing the yellow metal back down to the week’s opening price range. The U.S. Labor Day weekend should mean that trading is slow throughout the beginning of the next week.

Aug 26

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – August 19-23, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,365.60
Weekly High: $1,399.70
Weekly Low: $1,356.90
Friday Close: $1,396.50

This week proved fruitful for gold, as a few economic global events pushed the price range up slightly higher by Friday, despite selling off early in the week. Last week showed improvements for gold, jumping 13%, so after those dramatic gains in an otherwise uncertain trading realm, traders were eager to reap the rewards from the incline and sell off their shares on Monday, bringing the price of gold back down to $1,365.

Tuesday saw gold rise a little bit on some more safe haven demand and a lower dollar. Traders are keeping an eye on the situation in Egypt, as this global crisis could push people back into desiring the hedge fund of gold. Other items of interest this week were the FOMC minutes released on Wednesday and Chinese manufacturing data released on Thursday.

Wednesday’s prices remained near steady as the FOMC released minutes that proved no real surprise to gold traders. With the expectation that the Federal Reserve would be soon employing their “tapering” program to end low interest rates, gold traders are cautious, but the meeting on Wednesday revealed no concrete time frame for when this would happen.

Because of the lack of news from the FOMC, Thursday’s prices remained steady with slight gains. The increase was also influenced by the manufacturing reports released on China’s economy, which had shown improvement. China is the world’s second largest buyer of gold, so a flourishing economy is bullish for the yellow metal.

Friday ended the week on a fairly sharp incline, probably influenced by the subtly bullish factors piling up throughout the week. These gains could spill over into next week.

Aug 12

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – August 5-8, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,302.30
Weekly High: $1,314.70
Weekly Low: $1,275.10
Friday Close: $1,313.20

Summer trading was fairly quiet for gold this week. Monday closed the first day of the week on a slight downturn, due to lack of fresh bullish news for precious metals. In related news, China’s economy reported growth on Monday, which could be bullish for gold in the long term, since China is the world’s second biggest buyer of the yellow metal.

Tuesday featured “Fedspeak” by Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockheart, which also brought the market down. Lockheart made the statement that he expects the tapering program to begin by the end of the year. Tuesday’s gold market responded negatively to this statement, dropping gold to below the $1,300 mark to hit a new three-week low.

Wednesday recovered some of those losses in short covering after midday selling pressure had worn off. Overall, trading is still relatively quiet and uneventful during these “dog days” of summer, when traders in North America and Europe are vacationing and away from their computers.

Thursday was the best of the week for gold, shooting up above the $1,300 bar to overcome previous losses. The dollar contributed to this gain by hitting a six-week low overnight, and the European Union also released news that the economy was improving, a bullish factor for many markets.

Friday ended the week by consolidating the gains from Thursday to end on an overall higher note.

Aug 05

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – July 29-August 2, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,328.70
Weekly High: $1,336.40
Weekly Low: $1,285.10
Friday Close: $1,307.90

The week began in anticipation of major economic news the rest of the week and a high opening statement on Monday. The dollar hit a five-week low on Monday, causing gold to start out on a slight upswing. Tuesday flipped the switch and gold endured modest losses as those outside markets turned bearish – the dollar rose and crude oil sank.

The first big news of the week occurred on Wednesday when the FOMC released their minutes and some key U.S. economic data came out. Wednesday’s price of gold took a slip from these two points, mainly the latter. U.S. gross domestic product for the second quarter reported higher-than-expected numbers, ranking at 1.7$ instead of 0.9%. The monthly ADP jobs report also showed gains, reporting 200,000 new jobs instead of the expected 180,000. The FOMC minutes were still accommodative to gold, with Chairman Ben Bernanke waiting on pushing the tapering program ahead. The new expected start date for the long-anticipated change to Federal Reserve monetary policy, which would be extremely bearish for gold, has been now circulating as around September.

Thursday regained some of those losses as Europe started off on some positive trading deals with the U.S. and gold traders were bolstered by the final closing statement from Bernanke that came out after the traing day had ended. There was no mention of any start date for the tapering program in this statement, a good sign for gold bugs.

Friday, however, undid all the gains of the week and slipped down below the $1,300 mark on very strong U.S. economic data. U.S. manufacturing data and jobless claims reports pushed gold down, further exacerbating worries that positive economic reports will influence an earlier decision by the FOMC.

Jul 29

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – July 22-26, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,332.00
Weekly High: $1,347.00
Weekly Low: $1,311.20
Friday Close: $1,333.10

The price of gold fluctuated within a fairly small range this week, notably pushing above the $1,300 mark. Other than the news of breaking the $1,300 barrier, no major events contributed to the trajectory of the yellow metal this week. Perhaps because traders are starting to enter the summer doldrums, a time when the market slows as people enjoy their vacations, gold moved pretty slowly this week.

Monday exited the weekend with a solid jump beyond $1,300 to a four-week high, inflated by a weak dollar. Tuesday was quiet, with a few downward slumps on technical correction from Monday’s gain.

Wednesday also pulled some downside correction as the dollar regained its strength. Thursday righted those losses with a now sliding dollar, which hit a four-week low. Some jobless claims also came in at lower than expected. The end of the week was fairly quiet, boasting no major news in the global marketplace.

The next major talking point for gold is the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, and more U.S. unemployment reports.

Jul 22

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – July 15-19, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,283.10
Weekly High: $1,294.50
Weekly Low: $1,273.30
Friday Close: $1,294.90

The most dramatic shift in the price of gold happened this week on Wednesday, but no radical gains or losses were reported for the week overall.

Monday opened the week with short covering and bargain hunting to end the trading day slightly higher. Not too much global news impacted the prices early in the week, prices instead stagnating on anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual address to the House of Representatives on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tuesday saw prices rise on increased stability of U.S. inflation pressures. Traders in the gold market banked on the expectation that the Fed wouldn’t start their bond tapering program as soon as previously expected. This theory is based on Chairman Ben Bernanke’s recent addresses, in which he has not indicated a certain time frame for ending the quantitative easing program.

Part of this is because the U.S. economy, though experiencing improvement, has not accelerated at a rate to deem higher interest rates appropriate quite yet. An unstable job market and low inflation are still the names of the game right now. Last week the gold market responded to the Fed’s slow movement with a 5% increase in prices.

True to expectations, Bernanke did not give any solid indication of when the tapering program might begin. Analysts are calling his address a wash, since no major changes are being made. The sharp drop on Wednesday can more be attributed to a high dollar and technical correction than to reactions to the Fed.

Thursday when Bernanke continued his address, the gold marketplace continued to report little to no reaction. Thursday ended a little higher from traders taking advantage of the brief price fall.

Friday was quiet overall, ending the week a few points higher than it began, pushed upward more by bullish outside markets than any major world news.

Jul 15

Price of Gold Weekly Recap – July 8-12, 2013

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Monday Open: $1,235.40
Weekly High: $1,298.00
Weekly Low: $1,233.70
Friday Close: $1,284.40

In light of all the major losses gold has been suffering lately, gold bugs will be happy to know that this week charted gains in the yellow metal’s corner. With a major spike caused by “Fed speak” on Thursday, gold is now reaching up toward the $1,300 mark.

Monday opened positively for gold, prices reacting to a slight slump in the dollar index after the greenback had hit a three-year high last Friday. Conflict in Egypt is still on the world’s radar, and while nothing extreme happened overnight, gold takes its place once again as a safety fund in times of crisis.

Tuesday’s price gains were caused by economic reports out of China that relayed higher inflationary rates in the country. China’s consumer price index for June was up to 2.7%, higher than the 2.1% of May and the forecast of 2.5%. Inflation, or the threat of inflation, brings more attention back to gold as a hedge fund.

The really big day of the week for gold was Thursday – the FOMC had a meeting on Wednesday, which consisted of more deliberation than action, and no conclusive evidence for any changes in Fed policy in the near future, which caused a major price jump on Thursday. One of the major issues of the meeting was how to convey the Fed’s policies to the public. What is now being called “Fed speak” to refer to the statements issued by Chairman Ben Bernanke is a good sign for gold right now. The result of the meeting is that now the Fed expects to employ its “tapering” program later instead of sooner.

Friday reported a few losses in mixed trading, but nothing too substantial to undo the gains from the day before.