Gold market update for September 24th: After rallying 4% late last week, gold is down for a fourth consecutive session. Several factors are fueling gold’s current direction, including:
- Uncertainty about direction of Fed policy – after last week’s surprise decision to continue central bank stimulus at current rates, New York Fed President Dudley explains that stimulus could still be pulled back later this year. Next week’s labor numbers are expected to show a slowly improving job market, which is negative for gold, and may also lead to a pullback in stimulus
- A firmer dollar against a basket of currencies. This makes gold and other commodities more expensive in other countries, but less in the U.S.
- Weak Asian demand ahead of busy wedding and festival season. India has taken dramatic steps to cut gold imports it believes will help resolve its current deficit problems, which has put a dent in otherwise robust physical demand
Silver is also down 0.4% to $21.52 in early Tuesday trading. Read more…