Gold Steadies After Futures Jump to $2,000 for the First Time
Gold’s rally showed signs of losing steam after futures touched $2,000 an ounce for the first time, silver was briefly whipsawed.
(Bloomberg) -- Gold steadied as investors paused after a record-breaking rally that saw futures touch $2,000 an ounce for the first time.
Futures and spot prices backed off from the wide swings that shook the market earlier as traders assessed the outlook for a host of drivers including Federal Reserve policy, with the central bank meeting this week. A slumping dollar, the economic turmoil unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic and expectations for more stimulus have pushed Comex prices up 29% this year.
Gold for December delivery rose 0.4% to settle at $1,963.90 an ounce at 1:30 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal swung between gains of up to 2.3% and losses of as much as 1.4%.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,953.29 an ounce. The metal’s 14-day relative strength index has been above 70 -- a signal to some traders that it’s overbought and due for a pullback -- for six straight sessions.
Silver fell as investors weighed whether precious metals rose too high, too fast. Spot silver slipped as much as 9.2%, the most since March, before paring losses. It had earlier climbed 6.6% to the highest since 2013.
“Gold is temperamental too, but not nearly like silver,” said David Govett, head of precious metals trading at Marex Spectron, adding that the Fed meeting should calm markets. “All in all, a silly night and morning, but I think we have seen the worst for the moment.”
The two-day Federal Reserve meeting that concludes on Wednesday may provide more direction. There are some expectations that setbacks in the global fight against the pandemic will push Chairman Jerome Powell to signal that rates will stay near zero for longer. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was near the lowest in almost two years.
“The uncertainty over outlook for the virus and by association the economy, suggests that the Fed will aim to keep interest rates toward the lower end of the fed funds target band ‘for as long as it takes’ - one of the phrases used last time,” Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX Group Inc., said in an emailed note.
While prices wavered on Tuesday, most market watchers are predicting more gains for both gold and silver. There’s a long list of bullish drivers: the dollar remains weak, geopolitical tensions are rising, real rates have tumbled, and governments and central banks worldwide have unleashed vast stimulus measures to resuscitate economies.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its 12-month forecast for gold to $2,300, expecting further pressure on the dollar. The bank also sees silver climbing to $30 “pulled upward by higher gold prices and better prospects for silver industrial demand, particularly in solar energy.”
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