Gold: an overview of the market situation

Gold prices declined significantly, which was associated with the expectations of tomorrow's meeting of the Federal Reserve System, which is expected, the market will have more clarity on the prospects for monetary policy. Add that trades in the U.S. currency and the stock markets are in a narrow range, as uncertainty over the future of U.S. monetary stimulus program investors is the focus of that, just, and helps push gold prices downward.

It is worth noting that the Fed meeting, which is scheduled for this week, has caused much speculation as to what the Fed can reduce the size of its asset-purchase program, which now amounts to $ 85 billion a month.

Recall that the program, known as quantitative easing, aimed at stimulating economic growth in the United States, has helped raise the price of gold to record levels in recent years, keeping the pressure on long-term interest rates and stoking fears about inflation. Fears that the amount of the program can be reduced to help lower prices by 18% this year. Many experts point out that the decline was much larger than many would expect.

We add that the data presented today showed that physical demand in India and China, which are the largest consumers of gold, down from peak levels after the sharp sell-off in April. Any signs of a significant slowdown in demand in the Chinese market would be a big blow to the value of gold, as investors expect that China will be able to compensate for the weaknesses of buying from India. Note that the demand in India has declined markedly after the government increased the duty on imports in order to reduce its current account deficit.

The cost of the August gold futures on COMEX today dropped to 1361.60 dollars an ounce.