Hedge funds slash bullish wagers on gold over Trump election win
The precious metal has fallen about 8% from a record high on Oct. 31, with losses accelerating after Trump’s election victory last week.
Gold held near a record-high, even as as investors weighed a shift in messaging from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell, who said the US central bank will likely keep rates on hold for longer than originally planned.
The precious metal is up about 15% so far this year, with gains partially driven by haven demand as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine continue to escalate.
It closed little changed on Tuesday after Powell said that it’s appropriate to give the Fed’s restrictive policy further time to work, and pointed to the lack of additional progress made on inflation in recent months following several strong US economic prints.
Bullion withstood a surge in Treasury yields on Tuesday, as well as a jump in the dollar after Powell’s comments saw another collapse in market-implied expectations for Fed rate cuts this year. Higher borrowing costs and a stronger dollar are typically a negative for the non-yielding precious metal, yet it remains in a weeks-long uptrend that’s surprised some onlookers.
Long-standing supports — including robust buying by central banks and increased demand from Chinese consumers — are also underpinning prices.
Spot gold was steady at $2,381.99 an ounce as of 8:06 a.m. in Singapore, close to its all-time high of $2,431.52 reached on Friday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after a five-day rally. Silver, platinum and palladium all edged higher.
(By Sybilla Gross)
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