Gold

Gold just posted its highest monthly close on record, and now trades less than $40 from its record high set in May. With seasonality on its side, I suspect another crack at the record high could be in order. Although it does run the risk of a shakeout around the milestone level.

The US PCE inflation report is arguably the event of the week, and with traders having vigorously sold the US dollar ahead of it I am left wondering if it is a case of ‘sell the rumour, buy the fact’ – especially if it comes on hot. And with AUD/USD and gold stalling around key levels on Wednesday, the potential for mean reversion seems apparent.

Gold is knocking on the door of record highs heading into what has recently been an extremely strong period for bullion prices. But having rallied so hard since early October, it comes across as being priced for perfection near-term.

Gold was up nearly 1.3% by late afternoon trading in London, near $2040 while silver was closing in on the $25.00 level. The precious metals have been supported by two factors: Bond yields and US dollar, both falling.

A softer US dollar has helped AUD/USD and gold push towards key technical levels, suggesting the near-term price performance may determine their longer-term trajectory as we head towards 2024.

Gold edges towards $2000 in holiday thinned trade, but the rally appears to be running out of steam.

Gold has formed a double top around $2000 which leaves the potential for a pullback before its next leg higher. And crude oil shows the potential for a bounce towards $80 or $82 ahead of next week's OPEC meeting.

Welcome to another edition of Technical Tuesday, a weekly report where we highlight some of the most interesting markets that will hopefully appease technical analysts and traders alike. In this week’s report, we will analysis gold and silver following last week’s bullish price action.

US inflation turned out to be weaker than expected on both the headline and core fronts, and the market’s response was a swift one. We saw gold and silver rise, as yields and the dollar dropped, while index futures jumped with the pace of the rally gaining further momentum once the cash markets opened on Wall Street.

Large speculators increased their gross-long exposure to AUD/USD futures by 17.1% and trimmed shorts by -2.9% on the day of the RBA’s last hike. And this could be a significant development when you consider net-short exposure recently hit a record level of bearishness just six weeks ago, yet prices defied bears with a sustainable break beneath 63c.

US benchmark bond yields look like they may have bottomed in the near-term, an outcome that may generate additional headwinds for gold at time when it’s already struggling.

Markets have been very quiet in the last couple of days, with the lack of any major data causing stocks to drift higher, extending their recent trend, while the dollar has drifted back higher following last week’s data-driven sell-off. As a result, gold and silver have weakened so far this week. But are we now going to see a recovery?

AUD/USD and gold have struggled in November, giving back some of the gains achieved in late October. With both sitting near key levels, we look at the prospects for a bounce or extension of the pullback in the days ahead.

Precious metals prices have weakened over the last couple of weeks, following gold’s impressive +7% gains in October, and silver’s not-so-impressive 3% rise. Last month’s gains for gold were mostly driven by safe-haven demand as the flare up in the Middle East conflict saw investors rush out of risk-sensitive assets.

Gold enjoyed its best month in seven in October, with its 7.3% rise forming a clear bullish engulfing candle and was its third best month of the year. Whether it can extend its rally and make a run for a new record high remains to be seen, but we have seen gold failed around the $2075 highs three times since 2020. What would be so different this time?

Gold spent the whole of last week consolidating its sharp 7% rise recorded in October, ending a run of three consecutive weekly gains. The precious metal has struggled to move north of the key $2000 mark, though the metal hasn’t exactly sold off yet.

Gold has four powerful fundamental positives working for it right now yet it can’t muster even a modest bid. That's telling.