Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted net-long positions by 11% to 197,362 as of Nov. 12, the lowest in 14 weeks.
CME Group, which operates the largest US futures exchanges, will from today increase to $500 million the amount of physical gold its US clearing members can post as collateral for margin requirements, more than double the existing $200 million.
The Chicago-based firm which first accepted bullion two years ago is the latest of a number of exchanges including IntercontinentalExchange and other financial services companies like JP Morgan that accept the use of gold as collateral, which essentially places the precious metal in the top tier of asset classes alongside government bonds and currencies. The World Gold Council is also lobbying to have the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision do the same, which could have widespread repercussions for bullion.
Harriet Hunnable, CME Group’s managing director of metals products, told Reuters: “I think that it really shows that people in the gold market want to use gold more efficiently.”
