Gold – Back in favour?

Or just a blip?

Gold has very much fallen out of favour over the last month as it fell 10% on the back of coming within a whisker of $2,000. But has something changed?

We’ve seen plenty of risk aversion in the markets over the last 24 hours, with stock markets falling heavily, and rather than being particularly supportive for the dollar, it’s gold that has performed well which hasn’t really been the case in recent weeks.

Perhaps that’s because higher inflation and therefore interest rate expectations have been behind all of the gloom in the markets, which is typically bullish for the dollar.

Whereas the last 24 hours seem to have seen a shift. Rather than interest rates, it’s economic fears that are driving the negativity in the markets. Higher inflation is squeezing margins which means higher prices. And the Fed has gone from anticipating a soft landing, to softish and now just a safe one. That shouldn’t fill anyone with confidence.

And maybe that’s why we’re seeing investors move back towards gold. Of course, we’ve seen plenty of big sentiment swings in the markets, especially this year, so that could change. But it’s possible that gold may be back in favour.

The first test of this comes around $1,850 which has been support and resistance in the past and coincides with the upper end of the 55/89-period SMA on the 4-hour chart.

This is followed by $1,875-1,900, a break of which would be a strong signal. A break back below $1,800 on the other hand would suggest quite the opposite unless accompanied by very positive economic news which seems unlikely at this point.

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Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Former Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary.

His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News.

Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.