Gold ETFs are off Tuesday as the price of futures is broadly lower, while stocks get a boost due to investor excitement from Tesla.
The safe-haven asset continues to find itself under pressure from the global equity rebound that started Monday, in addition to solid gains in the U.S. dollar index. February gold futures were last down almost 1.6%, or nearly $25 an ounce to trade at 1,552.
Meanwhile the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust ETF (IAU) lost 1.59% today, while the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN (UGLD) magnified those losses and is down nearly 5% Tuesday.
Asian stock markets rebounded overnight following Monday’s coronavirus driven sell-off. So far this week trader and investor risk appetites are keener and more risk-on, as investors seem to be digesting and moving past the still growing coronavirus outbreak. The virus has been on everyone’s minds, with the death toll reaching 426 Monday, including 20,679 confirmed cases in China, as air travel to China has been significantly curtailed and global and domestic business there has been disrupted.
Aiding markets, China’s central bank this week has injected large amounts of capital into its financial system to help domestic businesses that are being damaged by the coronavirus outbreak. This move has helped to pacify investors regionally and globally.
Despite the move lower recently, the lustrous metal climbed 4% so far this year already, reaching its loftiest level since April 2013 early last month, as investors dumped riskier assets following a spike in tensions between the U.S. and Iran. It neared that level again on Sunday night, hitting $1,598.5 an ounce.
Gold’s value typically moves inversely to the dollar as the precious metal is internationally priced in the U.S. currency.
Some analysts recently warned that gold could suffer a pullback before moving higher.
“Prices have advanced already significantly … Gold prices are at our September target, silver at the December target and platinum at our June target,” the Dutch bank’s senior FX & precious metals strategist Georgette Boele said in a report published on Friday. “We continue to expect a price correction in the coming weeks and months.”
“A good start to the year is not a guarantee of higher prices at the end of the year. So, we would wait and look for a correction to take place,” Boele wrote.
Given that overall bullish gold positioning has become increasingly overcrowded, and has been for some time now, investors may be better off waiting to add positions, noted the strategist.
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