Gold prices have moved higher to start the week. In Monday’s North American trade, the spot price for an ounce of gold is $1324.83, up 0.63% on the day. It’s a quiet start to the week, with only one event. The US federal budget is expected to rebound and show a large surplus of $50.2 billion. The last time the federal government posted a surplus was in September.
Gold lost ground last week, as the US dollar received a boost from a tumultuous week on global stock markets. Is the correction over? It’s too early too tell, since much of the sell-off is related to investor concerns over possible interest rate hikes by major central banks. The Bank of England has said it could accelerate its pace of hikes, and the Federal Reserve could follow suit if inflation moves higher. Gold prices are closely linked to interest rate moves, and a change in the Fed’s projection of interest rate moves could have a sharp effect on gold. Currently, the Fed is projecting three rate hikes this year, but if inflation moves higher and the robust US economy continues its current expansion, the Fed may opt for four or even five rate hikes, and this would push gold to lower levels.
It’s a quiet start to the week in the US, and the US dollar has been generally subdued. That will likely change on Wednesday, with the release of inflation and retail sales reports. The markets will be glued to the inflation indicators, as last week’s stock market slide was triggered by concern that higher inflation would lead to additional rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and other central banks. If inflation numbers are higher than expected, we could see some volatility in gold prices and further sell-offs in the stock markets.
