Today’s AM fix was USD 1,311.00, EUR 942.08 and GBP 772.54 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,308.50, EUR 939.61 and GBP 772.20 per ounce.
Gold fell $2.70 or 0.21% yesterday to $1,307.80/oz. Silver slipped $0.05 or 0.25% to $19.56/oz.
Gold is trading in a very tight trading range above $1,310/oz, with geopolitical risk from Ukraine driving the safe haven demand.
Gold Breaks Through 200 and 50 Moving Averages, 5 Year Chart - (Reuters)
Technically, the gold price would be expected to break out at some point but the direction of the breakout is unclear. A breakout to the upside would have to clear $1,331/oz and then trade above $1,392/oz, towards the psychologically important $1,400/oz level.
Dave Toth, the director of technical research at futures brokerage RJ O’Brien and Associates in Chicago, has referred to this price pattern as “ranges within ranges” since the current price is in the mid-range of the price range over the last month and this latest month price range is itself in the middle of the price range over the last year.
Bangladesh Being Used As Transit Point for Gold Smuggling into India
The Financial Express of Dhaka, Bangladesh, today reports on a huge increase in customs seizures of smuggled gold into Bangladesh over the last year.
Last March, 107kg of gold was seized by officials at the international airport in Chittagong. Then more recently, 106kg was impounded at the international airport of the capital city Dhaka. The biggest seizure, however, was in July last year, at the same airport in Dhaka when 124kg of smuggled gold was discovered.
The National Board of Revenue have compiled statistics showing that while only 25kg of smuggled gold was seized in 2012 in Bangladesh, this rose to 520 kgs last year. Similar figures for the first three months of this year hit 220kg just from these two international airports.
Most legal gold arriving into Bangladesh comes from the Middle East, Singapore or Malaysia, and also via remittances from Bangladeshi immigrants. Since the import tax on gold into Bangladesh is very low, officials believe that the huge rise in smuggling is mainly is because Bangladesh is being used as a transit point for gold smuggling into neighbouring India where the import tax is currently running at more than 11%, and where there is an insatiable unfulfilled demand for gold.
Indeed, those arrested for gold smuggling into Dhaka and Chittagong airports have confirmed that the final destination is India and officials say that multiple international criminal groups are involved. Once the gold comes into Bangladesh it is transported back into India in smaller amounts via the numerous border crossings.
Bangladeshi law enforcement officials say that the smuggling operations are meticulously planned and they suspect that some corrupt staff from the Civil Aviation Authority and customs agencies may be involved, since otherwise the smuggling operations would be very difficult to execute. This is why they are viewing the smuggling as a potential national security issue.
This elaborate network of gold smuggling operations into Bangladesh and India shows yet again that in the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, gold is not a ‘barbarous relic’, and is not ‘tradition’, it is in fact something much more fundamental, money.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD holds steady near 1.0650 amid risk reset
EUR/USD is holding onto its recovery mode near 1.0650 in European trading on Friday. A recovery in risk sentiment is helping the pair, as the safe-haven US Dollar pares gains. Earlier today, reports of an Israeli strike inside Iran spooked markets.
GBP/USD recovers toward 1.2450 after UK Retail Sales data
GBP/USD is rebounding toward 1.2450 in early Europe on Friday, having tested 1.2400 after the UK Retail Sales volumes stagnated again in March, The pair recovers in tandem with risk sentiment, as traders take account of the likely Israel's missile strikes on Iran.
Gold price defends gains below $2,400 as geopolitical risks linger
Gold price is trading below $2,400 in European trading on Friday, holding its retreat from a fresh five-day high of $2,418. Despite the pullback, Gold price remains on track to book the fifth weekly gain in a row, supported by lingering Middle East geopolitical risks.
Bitcoin Price Outlook: All eyes on BTC as CNN calls halving the ‘World Cup for Bitcoin’
Bitcoin price remains the focus of traders and investors ahead of the halving, which is an important event expected to kick off the next bull market. Amid conflicting forecasts from analysts, an international media site has lauded the halving and what it means for the industry.
Geopolitics once again take centre stage, as UK Retail Sales wither
Nearly a week to the day when Iran sent drones and missiles into Israel, Israel has retaliated and sent a missile into Iran. The initial reports caused a large uptick in the oil price.