Geopolitics, Economic Data To Occupy Gold Market Attention Next Week
New York (Aug 8) Simmering geopolitical concerns and a spate of economic data from China, Europe and the U.S. will vie for the gold market’s attention next week.
December gold futures fell Friday, settling at $1,311 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, but up 1.25% on the week. September silver fell Friday, settling at $19.94 an ounce, down 2.1% on the week.
In the weekly Kitco News Gold Survey, 18 see higher prices, six see lower prices and three see prices trading sideways or are neutral. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders and technical-chart analysts.
Gold prices surged late in the week on geopolitical issues, starting with mid-week news that Russian President Vladimir Putin again amassed troops on Ukraine’s border. Overnight gold prices rose to a three-week high on news that U.S. President Barack Obama authorized air strikes against militants in Iraq. Additionally Israel and Hamas broke their cease-fire.
Analysts at Barclays said in addition to gold, crude oil price rallied this week on the various geopolitical news items and equity markets fell on a weekly basis as “global risk sentiment deteriorated… As a result, the week is closing with heavy losses in major equity indices, notably in Europe … and Asia, while safe havens are rallying.”
Some profit-taking on Friday curbed gold’s gains and limited equities losses ahead of the weekend. Still, one North American bullion dealer said going into next week, he is going to err on the long side.
“There (are) just so many things going on, geopolitically, economic reports, a few wars going on, gold could be really choppy. The tone is a little bullish right now. I’m not necessarily bullish on gold, but you’d have to be a fool to be short,” he said.
Technical charts are gold-supportive with the move back over $1,300, Barclays said. “Cross-asset risk reduction is helping to provide a bid for gold; we look for a move above $1,325 to confirm higher toward targets near $1,345 and then the $1,365 area,” Barclays said.
Source: KitcoNews
