Bullish gold traders didn’t get the news they wanted when the most recent Federal Reserve minutes revealed that more rate cuts may not be on the horizon, which could feed into lower gold prices. However, market experts feel that in the long run, gold prices will see increases.
“Over time, gold’s going to go much higher, but in the near-term here, I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to change the direction of where gold’s headed. To me, it’s chopping around here and it will go higher, but it may go lower first,” said Todd ‘Bubba’ Horwitz Chief Market Strategist, BubbaTrading.com, in an interview with Kitco News.
Last month, the central bank instituted its third straight rate cut by 25 basis points—a reversal from last year’s four straight rate hikes. However, more rate cuts are not set in stone.
“Federal Reserve officials generally agreed that they likely won’t need to cut interest rates again unless economic conditions change significantly, according to minutes released Wednesday from their most recent meeting,” noted a CNBC report discussing the Fed’s most recent minutes in which it cut rates by a quarter point last month.
“They maintained, however, that policy isn’t on a pre-set course, even if it is likely to remain on hold, and members will continue to assess changes in data and the general outlook,” the report said. “Members often note that Fed policy adjustments work on a lag that can take a year or more to be felt, so they intend on watching how the switch to easier policy will impact financial conditions. The cuts started in July, just seven months after the committee approved the fourth rate hike of 2018.”
“Those sentiments are largely in keeping with recent public statements from Fed officials,” it added. “Chairman Jerome Powell, in congressional testimony last week, said he also felt comfortable with the stance of policy. That includes the low probability of a rate hike as well: Following the Oct. 29-30 FOMC meeting, he further stated that he doesn’t expect increases unless there is a significant move up in inflation.”
Bulls or bears can take advantage of leveraged or non-leveraged funds in precious metals. Investors looking to invest in precious metals ETFs could try the SPDR Gold MiniShares (NYSEArca: GLDM) and SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) as a great way to play the market. Traders looking for leverage can use funds like the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: NUGT), VanEck Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEArca: GDX) and the Direxion Daily Jr Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NYSEArca: JNUG).
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