Gold Bullion falls as markets wait for central banks’ decisions this week
GOLD PRICES slipped 0.4% on Monday in London against the dollar as world stock markets traded cautiously ahead of the FED and BOJ meetings this week, writes Atsuko Whitehouse at BullionVault.
The Nikkei share average climbed at the start but ended flat. FTSE 100 marked near one- year highs before turning negative after the publication of the CBI’s industry survey.
DAX gained 0.63% and but the CAC 40 was down 0.06% in afternoon activity. In early trading the Dow Jones was down 0.44%.
The Dollar index hit a 4 month high last Friday of 97.59 but has slipped slightly to 97.39 this morning.
The Federal Reserve will deliver its latest policy decision this Wednesday.
“Markets have recently repriced somewhat higher the chances for rate hikes this year, with around a 25% market-implied probability by September, and just over a 45% probability by December,” Ethan Harris, economist at Bank of America notes, reported the Financial Times.
Mr Harris continued, “We would not expect the July FOMC statement to materially change those probabilities, as we do not anticipate any substantive changes: the Fed is still watching the post-Brexit data evolve and should remain cautious overall.”
On Sunday a communique issued by the G20 ministers at the end of the two-day meeting in China said Brexit had added to uncertainty in the global economy where growth was “weaker than desirable”. It added that members, however, were “well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences”.
“In light of recent developments, we reiterate our determination to use all policy tools – monetary, fiscal and structural – individually and collectively to achieve our goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.”
The Bank of Japan meets this Friday to decide whether to apply yet more economic stimulus.
Last week The Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda ruled out the idea of using “helicopter money” – or directly underwriting the budget deficit – to combat deflation in an interview, recorded in mid-June by BBC.
After these remarks and also the ECB not changing financial policy the Dow Jones Average fell more than 79 points on 22nd July.
Following early July’s all-time record high Hedge funds and other money managers last week cut their bets for a second straight week. However, it still remains close to all-time highs.
As for Silver, Net long positions on US commodity exchange COMEX jumped 7% in the week to 19th July, setting a fresh record.
Silver price in US dollar on Monday morning also dipped 1%.
The gold/silver ratio hit near a two year low of 65.64 on 14th July but is rising to 67.64 London lunch time.
