Gold continues to defy the gravitational pull from rising US Treasury yields and a stronger dollar which gathered further momentum after the US Federal Reserve last week delivered a hawkish pause in their aggressive rate hike campaign. But while the normally strong inverse correlation with dollar and yields have faded, thereby reducing selling pressure from algorithmic focused trading strategies, gold's resilience continues to point to demand from investors seeking a hedge against nervous markets and the rising risk of stagflation hitting the US economy in the coming months.
Key points in this gold note
- Gold continues to show resilience despite multiple headwinds from dollar strength to rising yields and lower future rate cut expectations
- Support is likely to be driven by a market in search for a hedge against the FOMC failing to deliver a soft, as opposed to a hard landing.
- We maintain a patiently bullish view on investment metals as the timing of a fresh push to the upside remains very US ecnomic data dependent.
Gold continues to defy the gravitational pull from rising US Treasury yields and a stronger dollar which gathered further momentum after the US Federal Reserve last week delivered a hawkish pause in their aggressive rate hike campaign, while at the same forecasting considerably higher rates over 2024 and 2025 because of a resilient US economy, a strong labor market and sticky inflation, recently made worse by an OPEC-supported rise in energy prices.
Following the FOMC announcement we have seen the dollar reach a fresh 11-month high against a broad basket of major currencies, while the yield on US 10-year Treasuries has reached a 16-year high above 4.5%. The short-term interest rate futures market has reduced bets on the number of 25 basis-point rate cuts by the end of 2024 to less than three from the current level, with risk of another hike before yearend kept open.
Looking at our gold monitor below, it is difficult to build a bullish case for gold if current developments were the only driver for the yellow metal. With the dollar and bond yields on the rise, the inverse correlation with a relatively stable gold has deteriorated, a development that has reduced selling pressures from algorithmic trading strategies, normally a major contributor to daily trading volumes.
In addition, as mentioned the tailwind from future rate cuts has also faded as the market price in a higher for longer scenario. A development which for now continues to see some asset managers vote with their feet when it comes to investing in gold through Exchange-traded funds, the reason being the high opportunity cost of holding a non-interest paying position relative to short-term government bonds. The current cost of holding a gold position for 12 month is close to 6%, the bulk of that being the cost of borrowing dollars for one year, and until we see a clear trend towards lower rates and/or a upside break forcing a response, real money allocators will be looking for opportunities elsewhere.
ETF investors which include the above mentioned group of real money allocators have been cutting holdings for the past four months, leaving the total down by 172.4 tons during this time to 2757.8 tons, a 3-1/2-year low. The leverage fund net long position meanwhile continue to hover around 60k contracts (6 million ounces), some 35k below the one-year average.
