The Swinging Pendulum in Gold Sentiments - Sharps Pixley
The U.S. Comex gold futures surged 1.15 percent on Wednesday after the
disappointing U.S. Q4 GDP data was released while the Fed maintained its
bond-purchase program of $85 billion a month. The futures erased all
their gains on Thursday after the release of a series of U.S. economic
data. The S&P 500 index and the Euro Stoxx 50 index gave back 0.65
percent and 1.68 percent respectively in the past two days. The
Euro/Dollar traded as high as 1.3623 during Friday Asian morning while
the Dollar Index hovered at around 79.14, falling 0.76 percent for the
week.
Gold Reacting to Mixed Economic Data
Gold price jumped on Wednesday when the U.S. reported a -0.1 percent
contraction in the Q4 GDP growth due to the lower defense spending and a
smaller stockpile increase. The U.S. Fed announced on Wednesday that
they would continue with its $85 billion a month bond-purchase program,
citing further downside risks in the U.S. economy. On Thursday, the
gold price dropped as the market figured that the U.S. growth would
recover in Q1 and inflation is well under control. The core inflation
in the U.S. climbed only 1.4 percent in 2012, compared to 1.9 percent in
2011. Despite the amount of quantitative easing around the world, many
major economies are still struggling with disinflation rather than
inflation. On the other hand, the U.S. ADP employment rose 192,000 in
January after rising 185,000 in December. Germany’s unemployment in
January fell 16,000 compared to an expected 8,000 increase, indicating
that the economy is recovering from the Q4 decline. The Chinese
manufacturing expanded again in January with the PMI at 50.4 although
slightly lower than the December level of 50.6.
India and China Physical Demand Balancing Act
The gold price in India has declined about 6 percent from the November
peak owing mostly to Rupee’s appreciation against the U.S. dollar. In
addition, the government raised the import tariffs on gold from 4 to 6
percent and doubled the gold dore bars and ores duties to 5 percent last
week. The import duty rise has dampened gold demand while the dealers
in India have already stocked up for the wedding season. In China, gold
volumes traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the premiums have both
risen ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year. However, according to
Barclays, the rising Chinese demand has not offset the slowdown in
Indian consumption.
Data to Watch
All eyes will be on Friday’s U.S. January non-farm payrolls to gauge the
labour market outlook. Other events to watch will include the ECB and
the U.K. interest rate decisions on 7 February.
Kelly Smith
Sharps Pixley, London
www.sharpspixley.com
01 Feb 2013 | Categories: Gold
