Looking ahead, gold and other precious metals may continue to face an uphill struggle as the Federal Reserve is expected to keep hiking interest rates, which makes non-yielding assets like commodities less attractive. Sales of gold coins from the U.S. mint are also falling this year.
“Year-to-date, sales of brand-new gold American Eagle coins have fallen by one-fifth from the same period in 2017, data from the US Mint show,” according to BullionVault.
For gold to muster a credible near-term rebound, the dollar would need to weaken or inflation data would need to increase.
For more information on the gold market, visit our gold category.
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of GLD.