empty
21.08.2024 10:22 AM
Gold Flows to the West

Times are changing, and so are perspectives. Once, a price of $2500 per ounce of gold seemed exorbitant. Now, the futures market is actively betting that the precious metal could soar to $3000. For the first time in history, bars weighing around 40 ounces are priced above $1 million, which may not be the limit. Such high demand for gold has not been seen in a long time. And not only in the East.

While in 2022-2023, against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy, rising Treasury yields, and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar, XAU/USD quotes were rising due to de-dollarization, geopolitics, active central bank purchases, and increased appetite from China and India, the situation has changed in 2024-2025. Now, it is no longer Asia but North America and Europe that dictate their own rules in the precious metal market.

Gold is regaining the correlations it lost in previous years with Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar. Both bond yields and the U.S. dollar are falling due to expectations of aggressive monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve. Derivatives forecast that in 2024, the federal funds rate will plunge by 100 basis points to 4.5%, and in 2025, it will drop another 100 basis points to 3.5%. Cycles of monetary expansion have always created a favorable environment for an XAU/USD rally.

Dynamics of Gold and U.S. Bond Yields

This image is no longer relevant

It's no surprise that speculators have increased their net long positions in precious metals to the highest levels over four years, and ETF holdings rose in June and July after months of capital outflows from specialized exchange-traded funds.

Essentially, the West has picked up the falling banner from the East. Indeed, the sharp decline in Chinese gold imports in June and July, the cessation of gold purchases by the People's Bank of China, and lower prices in Shanghai compared to London indicate that demand in Asia is starting to wane. Prices are high.

Dynamics of Specialized Gold-Focused ETFs

This image is no longer relevant

What problems could XAU/USD be facing? A recession in the U.S. economy? As events in early August showed, fears of a recession did indeed cause the precious metal to drop. However, this was a momentary reaction to the sharp collapse in U.S. stock indexes. Investors were pulling gold from their portfolios to meet margin requirements for stocks. In fact, a recession is favorable for XAU/USD. In such a scenario, the Fed typically cuts rates sharply, Treasury yields fall, and the U.S. dollar weakens.

This image is no longer relevant

Neither a hard nor a soft landing for the U.S. economy is terrible for the precious metals. The country's GDP is slowing down, its currency is weakening, and it no longer has the same advantage over other countries.

Technically, on the daily gold chart, there is a battle for the pivot level of $2515 per ounce. If it remains for the bulls, we will continue to hold and increase our long positions from $2408, targeting $2570. A local victory for the bears would provide an opportunity to buy the precious metal on a pullback to $2480 per ounce.

Marek Petkovich,
Analytical expert of InstaForex
© 2007-2025
Select timeframe
5
min
15
min
30
min
1
hour
4
hours
1
day
1
week
Earn on cryptocurrency rate changes with InstaForex
Download MetaTrader 4 and open your first trade
  • Grand Choice
    Contest by
    InstaForex
    InstaForex always strives to help you
    fulfill your biggest dreams.
    JOIN CONTEST

Recommended Stories

EUR/USD. Analysis and Forecast

The EUR/USD pair is struggling to establish a clear short-term direction, trading within a multi-day range as markets await decisive news from the upcoming FOMC meeting regarding the interest rate

Irina Yanina 11:05 2025-05-06 UTC+2

USD/CAD. Analysis and Forecast

Today, the USD/CAD pair remains positive within a familiar range, without showing strong buying momentum. The strengthening of the U.S. dollar following a two-day decline is attributed to the positive

Irina Yanina 11:03 2025-05-06 UTC+2

The Market Took a Step Back

The longest winning streak of the S&P 500 in two decades has come to an end. But who's responsible? The Federal Reserve, which plans to keep rates unchanged

Marek Petkovich 10:16 2025-05-06 UTC+2

Markets Anxiously Await the Fed's Monetary Policy Meeting (Potential for Renewed Growth in Bitcoin and #NDX)

Markets remain tense. The U.S. Dollar Index and the cryptocurrency market are stagnating, caught between opposing forces. Investors are tensely awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting

Pati Gani 10:02 2025-05-06 UTC+2

GBP/USD Overview – May 6: Trump Goes After the Film Industry

The GBP/USD currency pair traded upward during the first half of Monday and downward during the second half. While the U.S. dollar didn't lose much this time, its brief attempt

Paolo Greco 07:04 2025-05-06 UTC+2

EUR/USD Overview – May 6: The Protest Against Donald Trump Continues

The EUR/USD currency pair began a new upward cycle on Monday. At this point, no one is likely surprised by another drop in the U.S. dollar. The market started selling

Paolo Greco 07:04 2025-05-06 UTC+2

What to Pay Attention to on May 6? A Breakdown of Fundamental Events for Beginners

There are very few macroeconomic events scheduled for Tuesday. In the Eurozone and Germany, the second estimate of April's services PMI will be published, but these are unlikely to attract

Paolo Greco 05:49 2025-05-06 UTC+2

Fed Rate Cut Probability Is Near Zero

This week marks the third Federal Reserve meeting of the year. At the first two meetings, monetary policy parameters remained unchanged, and there is virtually no chance of a rate

Chin Zhao 00:50 2025-05-06 UTC+2

The Dollar Sell-Off Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

The latest CFTC report reveals that the dollar sell-off continues unabated. Weekly changes against major currencies amounted to -$3.1 billion, bringing the total accumulated short position to -$17.1 billion

Kuvat Raharjo 00:50 2025-05-06 UTC+2

GBP/USD. The Pound and Politics

The pound reacted negatively to the results of the local elections in the UK, where the right-wing Reform UK party secured a convincing victory in many districts. However, the British

Irina Manzenko 00:50 2025-05-06 UTC+2
Can't speak right now?
Ask your question in the chat.
Widget callback
 

Dear visitor,

Your IP address shows that you are currently located in the USA. If you are a resident of the United States, you are prohibited from using the services of InstaFintech Group including online trading, online transfers, deposit/withdrawal of funds, etc.

If you think you are seeing this message by mistake and your location is not the US, kindly proceed to the website. Otherwise, you must leave the website in order to comply with government restrictions.

Why does your IP address show your location as the USA?

  • - you are using a VPN provided by a hosting company based in the United States;
  • - your IP does not have proper WHOIS records;
  • - an error occurred in the WHOIS geolocation database.

Please confirm whether you are a US resident or not by clicking the relevant button below. If you choose the wrong option, being a US resident, you will not be able to open an account with InstaForex anyway.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this message.