Currency War, Central Bankers’ Speeches and Gold
The U.S. Comex gold futures sold off 1.07 percent on Monday and
stabilized on Tuesday at $1,649.60. The gold futures fell 1.56 percent
year-to-date. After plunging 2.02 percent last week, the Euro/Dollar
inched up 0.67 percent this week to 1.3454 on Tuesday. The S&P 500
index climbed 0.10 percent while the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.70
percent in the past two days.
Why the Sudden Drop in Gold Price?
Given China is on holiday this week to celebrate the Lunar New Year,
physical gold demand in the Shanghai Stock Exchange is expected to slow
down after a year-on-year jump of 10 percent in January and February.
Technical weakness caused by the decline in physical demand from Asia as
well as concerns about European politics led to the sell-off in gold on
Monday. Gold traders also speculated that the G7 countries would issue
a statement ahead of the G20 meeting in Moscow this weekend to commit
countries not to devalue their currencies unilaterally. Gold price has
benefited as a hedge against fiat currency devaluation. The aversion of
currency wars will likely hurt gold demand and gold prices. On
Tuesday, the G7 officials released a statement saying that the
macroeconomic policies will be conducted based on domestic objectives
and will not be used to target exchange rates.
Central Bankers’ Speeches Influenced Gold Prices
In his address to the Spanish Congress, the ECB President acknowledged
the significant reform progress in Spain, and predicted that Europe will
recover in the second half of the year. A stronger Euro/Dollar, or a
weaker U.S. Dollar, would support gold prices. On Monday, the U.S. Fed
Vice Chairman suggested that the Fed can continue to hold interest rates
near zero percent even after the inflation and unemployment targets
have been reached. This means that there would not be an automatic
trigger in the interest rates as feared by the market, thus supporting
gold prices. After reading the various G7 statements, the market will
now turn its attention to the St. Louis Fed President’s speech on 13
February, the Cleveland Fed President’s speech on 15 February as well as
the G20 meeting on 15 to 16 February.
Kelly Smith
Sharps Pixley, London
www.sharpspixley.com
13 Feb 2013 | Categories: Gold
