Gold soars as Fed sounds warnings on asset prices, US recovery

Gold is starting off the week on a tear, adding over one percent to last week’s 2.4 percent advance to breach the $1760 level for the first time since October 2012. Bullion has now gained about 11.7 percent since March 31 and is set to post a 7th straight quarterly gain, which is the longest such streak since 2011.

On the monthly chart, the 10-day simple moving average has guided its steep climb since the start of 2019 and acted as a reliable support level for Bullion bar a single month, being March 2020.

From a fundamental perspective, Monday’s surge appears to have been triggered by warnings out of the Federal Reserve about potential asset price declines if the coronavirus “pandemic takes an unexpected course, the economic fallout prove adverse, or financial system strains reemerge”. Fed chair Jerome Powell also mentioned in a recent interview that the US economy’s recovery might last through the end of 2021, provided a reliable Covid-19 vaccine can be rolled out by then.

Such comments out of the world’s most influential central bank adds to the risk aversion among global investors who are clearly flocking to the safety that Bullion offers. The Fed has already initiated a major of Gold gains by lowering US interest rates to near-zero, amid market murmurs that those rates could turn negative by next year.

With the US Dollar remaining relatively stable, Bullion bulls are relishing any opportunity to push Gold prices higher, with $1800 appearing to be just around the corner.