Slight recovery in the course of the week
Market report Michael Blumenroth – 26.04.2019
Weekly market report
During this post-Easter week, gold has been trading within a fairly narrow range, signalling a slight recovery over the period.
The week so far can be characterised by new record levels on US stock markets (e.g. in the S&P500 and the Nasdaq index) as well as by the relative strength of the US dollar. Against the euro, it rose to new two-year highs, while also gaining versus the currencies of gold-producing countries such as Canada, South Africa and Australia.
Rising oil prices
All this could have weighed on the gold price. However, the fact that the situation in the Middle East is now somewhat more fragile amid the US government's new commitment to preventing Iran from exporting oil may have helped the precious metal. In addition, rising oil prices could sooner or later be reflected in inflation rates, which may also support gold. Declining yields / market interest rates on government bonds in the US and Europe were not negative for the precious metal, either.
In US-dollar terms, gold traded at 1,272 $/ounce on Thursday morning last week. It climbed to 1,280 $/ounce on Easter Monday, before slipping to its low for the week at 1,266.50 $/ounce on Tuesday amid strong stock markets around the globe. Since then, however, the precious metal has recovered step by step. Currently, it is trading at the weekly high of 1,283 $/ounce.
Euro currency weakens
The euro, on the other hand, declined sharply from 1.1300 €/$ last Thursday to a two-year low of 1.1118 €/$ yesterday. This was due to positive economic data from the US and rather negative figures (e.g. for the ifo Index) from the euro zone.
This currency development provided additional support to the price of Xetra-Gold. Starting from 36.20 €/gram last Thursday morning, Xetra-Gold posted gains on Wednesday and yesterday, in particular, to reach a weekly high of around 37.00 €/gram. It is still trading at that level currently.
Awaiting US economic data
The markets are now anticipating the first estimate of US GDP in the first quarter, expecting confirmation that the US economy continues to run at full steam. These figures are coming in today at 14.30 CEST.
I wish all readers a nice and relaxing weekend.