Gold continues to sail in calm waters as anticipation rises for central bankers’ gathering in Jackson Hole

It has been a largely uneventful week for the gold price as well as for most other markets, most likely due to anticipation for today’s statements of Janet Yellen and of Mario Draghi, scheduled at 4 and 9 p.m., respectively, during the central bankers’ symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

I personally do not expect any clear statements regarding the monetary policy of the Fed and ECB for the next months, but in light of the lack of other news – aside from the fact that the US will most likely will reach its debt ceiling by mid-October – as well as the fact that many market participants are still on their summer break, observers are concentrating on these two speeches. Markets, therefore, have shown only little movement.

In US dollars, Gold traded at 1,292 per ounce last Friday. It then briefly rose above the mark of 1,300 US$/ounce for the first time in 2017 that same afternoon, causing profit taking in the evening when the precious metal showed no inclination of again rising above 1.300 US$/ounce. By Monday, gold fell to its weekly low of 1,281 US$/ounce and continued to wallow between 1,294 US$/ounce and 1,284 US$/ounce. It currently trades at 1,287 US$/ounce.

Against the euro, the precious metal also trades somewhat weaker than last week, with both the euro and US dollar stagnant. From 35.35 €/gram last Friday, the price of Xetra-Gold also rose, to 35.55 €/gram, when gold in US dollar climbed above the 1,300 US$/ounce mark. But following profit taking, gold traded in euro also weakened. Xetra-Gold fell to its weekly low of 35.00 €/gram on Tuesday but currently trades at a slightly firmer 35.10 €/gram.

During the next hours, the markets’ attention will turn to the US central bankers’ symposium in Jackson Hole. Thereafter, the focus will be US domestic policy, more specifically on the questions of tax reform and the debt ceiling.

I wish all of our readers a wonderful late summer weekend.