Lingering weakness in gold futures has brought the yellow metal’s ratio against the S&P 500 to the lowest levels in more than six year as bullion falls in unison with real Treasury yields.
“Real treasury yields (i.e. adjusted for inflation) and the gold price are both falling. That is a break from the usual trend, where falling yields normally is good for the gold price,” said ETF Securities in a new research note.
Gold and exchange traded funds backed by physical holdings of the yellow metal have been under pressure since mid-March despite a geopolitical environment that should have a favored safe-haven assets.
“The 3% drop in the gold price last week is likely to have been a function of re-pricing of the risk-premium attached to the Ukrainian crisis in a relatively illiquid and directionless market. While Ukraine’s presidential elections on May 25th may be considered a step in the right direction, the situation is far from resolved,” notes ETF Securities.
Although it fell 2.7% last week, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) added almost $344 million in new assets. Still, the largest gold ETF is lighter buy $1.1 billion in the second quarter. [Traders Depart Gold as Risk Appetite Increases]
“The VIX equity volatility index declined to near its lowest level since 2007. Meanwhile the S&P 500 extended its longest winning streak above its 200-day moving average since 1998, helping drive the gold/S&P 500 ratio to 0.65, near the lowest level since January of 2008,” said ETF Securities.