By Ranjeetha Pakiam and Rupert Rowling
Gold is set for a fifth straight monthly decline, the longest losing run in half a decade, hit by a strengthening dollar and U.S. equities at record highs.
Bullion for immediate delivery, which was at $1,205.96 an ounce on Friday, has lost 1.5 percent in August, and the run of monthly declines is the longest since 2013. Prices hit a 19-month low on Aug. 16 and are down 7.4 percent this year, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has risen 1.7 percent.
The precious metal has been dumped as investors weigh prospects for further tightening by the Fed amid a robust U.S. economy, with global holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds declining to the lowest level since November. The latest developments on the trade war front have further aided the dollar, with President Donald Trump expected to move ahead with tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports as soon as next week.
“The problem for gold bulls is that while inflation remains contained around the world and theres no driver there for people to buy gold, that strengthening U.S. dollar will be a key factor,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. While theres potential for trade wars to slow global growth, thats not seen as a crisis and isnt likely to spur haven buying, according to McCarthy.
Net-Short Position
While prices have stabilized near $1,200 this month, bets on declines are still piling up with money managers boosting their net-short position to a record for a fifth straight week. Analysts at Citigroup Global Markets have said nobody needs gold in a world where yields and equities are rising.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said this month that gradual rate increases are likely, and that with inflation still low he wasnt worried about the economy overheating. The U.S. central bank looks set to deliver four more hikes before pausing, according to UBS Group AGs wealth management unit.
“In the short term, well have further strength in the dollar,” said UBSs Wayne Gordon, Singapore-based executive director for commodities and foreign exchange. Beyond that, gold may get a reprieve “when people start to look more further forward to the Fed effectively reaching what it sees as neutral, or slightly above neutral,” he said.
Other precious metals:
- Silver gained 0.8 percent to $14.6672 an ounce. The metal is still set for third consecutive monthly loss and largest since April 2017.
- Platinum increased 1.2 percent to $799.40 an ounce, also set for a third monthly drop in a row.
- Palladium rose 1.1 percent to $981.22 an ounce to extend the metals monthly gain to 5 percent, which would be the most since December.
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